Twist of Fate: The Movie
by Dajira
Summary: A month after the battle with Buu, Mirai Koji decides to pay a visit to the past. Unfortunately, an uninvited guest shows up as well.


**Disclaimer:**** Dragonball Z and its characters are all the property of Akira Toriyama, Toei, etc. However, I do own the original characters that will be showing up in this story.**

**Author's Note: This takes place a month after the Majin Buu Saga, and Good Buu is still hiding up at Mr. Satan's place. This is likely the last story I do from my Twist of Fate series, hence some recent changes to the main story. As always, a big thanks to everyone who followed the series and its companion stories and added them to their favorite lists, and also thanks for all the feedback (both positive and negative). I hope you enjoy this one as well. ^_^  
**

**Translation:**

**Hebi (pronounced heh-BE)- **Snake

**Dappi- **Moulting

* * *

Violent tremors rocked the sacred Kaioushin Realm over and over again as a great battle continued to unfold. With the fate of the entire universe at stake, Super Saiyajin Three Goku fought with everything he had against Chibi Majin Buu. Goku had hoped to beat Buu as quickly as possible due to the limitations his present form had now that he was once again among the living; unluckily, the child-sized demon refused to be so accommodating. To him, the fight was all just one big, fun game, and just like his opponent, he had no intentions of losing whatsoever.

On the sidelines stood Vegeta, watching in equal awe, reluctant respect, and irritation as his rival fought impressively against the terrifying Buu. However, regardless of how impressive Kakarott was, he knew the other Saiyajin couldn't maintain that level of performance for long. Only too soon did the Prince's prediction come true. After surviving a Super Kamehameha like it was nothing, Buu created copies of himself to gang up on the younger Saiyajin with a shower of ki bolts.

Unseen at the time, an errant blast went flying past Goku and far up into the sky towards one of the many moons that orbited the planet. While the moons were generally vacant, this one was different. Before Madoshi Bibidi invaded the holy world with Buu, targeting all the World King Gods for their rulership, someone else had already made a similar attempt. In the end, all of the Kaioushin together had been able to stop this particular enemy by cornering them on this particular moon and sealing them away inside a Denshi Jar. It was supposed to have kept the villain ensnared for all eternity.

The blast hit the Denshi Jar, blowing it to smithereens. Right after, a purple gaseous form emerged from the ruins, laughing balefully.

"Free!" the shadow cried, overjoyed. "I'm finally free!"

* * *

**Twist of Fate: The Movie**

**By: Dajira**

* * *

**One Month Later...**

Police sirens wailed loudly downtown Randosel Town in the afternoon. On the main highway, a chase was in progress as the police pursued three men who had just robbed a bank a little while ago. Though the officers were very determined in catching the felons, the robbers were equally determined to evade them. When it had first started, three police cars had been in pursuit, however, due to some reckless yet adept evasion, now only one was left in the hunt. Just as the police was about to finally close in, at the last second, the driver of the getaway car wheeled around and headed off in a different direction, and the last police car ended up colliding into another car.

"Take that!" the man in the passenger seat taunted. Now he confident that he and his partners were going to get away with the money unobstructed.

So when he turned back around, he was as surprised as the other two men were when they did spot an obstruction up ahead. It was surprising because the hindrance wasn't more police, but a single man dressed in outlandish clothing. His face was hidden behind a pair of black sunglasses and his head was covered by a white bandana with two long tails streaming in a passing breeze. Unknown to them, he was the Warrior of Justice and Love, the Great Saiyaman.

Instead of slowing down, the driver sped up; in his mind, if people wanted to stand out in the middle of the road then deserved to be ran over. Smiling, Gohan simply extended out a foot to stop the car. More enraged than surprised by what just happened, the man in the passenger seat whipped out a riffle and pumped out a volley of bullets at the hero. To the criminals' utter amazement, all of the bullets were indifferently caught in one hand and then thrown away. They were further shocked when the Great Saiyaman dropped his foot down on the smashed hood to flip the car upside down, catapulting them onto the road behind him.

Groaning, the men started to get back up to their feet, only to find their path blocked again. This time it was by a female, donning similar attire as the Great Saiyaman, except she was wearing a cape and helmet with a blue visor. She was known as the Great Saiyaman II.

"Damn you!" one of the robbers roared, pulling out a knife. He lunged. The Great Saiyaman II easily subdued him with a hard punch to his stomach. Rushing past him, she took care of the driver, who had pulled out a gun, with a swift reverse elbow strike.

"Why you bast…!" barked the last-and largest-felon while he reached for his gun. Before he could fire it, Gohan caught the tip and easily bent it backwards. The man immediately dropped the destroyed weapon and fell to the ground on his knees, holding out his hands pleadingly. "S-Spare me!"

The two Great Saiyamen seemed to completely ignore the man now as they went into their introduction.

"So long as there is evil in this world…!"

"The wrath of justice will burn…!"

"Great Saiyaman I…!"

"And II…!"

"…can be counted on to…whoosh to scene again!"

"Eh!" the criminal blinked at the two dumbly. Then, realizing he had the chance to escape, he scrambled up to his feet and ran off.

"Gohan! He's getting away!" Videl cried in embarrassment.

"I'll stop him!" Gohan assured her.

He wouldn't need to.

When the man stopped looking back at the two heroes to see if they were trying to pursue him, he looked around…and ran throat-first into a muscular arm. The felon landed hard on the road and quickly lost consciousness.

Gohan and Videl gaped at the attacker. It was a man several years older than both of them, although still very young-looking, with long, glossy red hair that spilled past his shoulders. His attire was mostly black, except for the vermillion, sleeveless jacket. Strapped across his back was a scabbard with a sword inside it.

Gohan was surprised by the man's appearance because he knew him.

"Ko-Koji-san!?" Gohan gasped, removing his shades.

"Koji-san...?" Videl repeated, looking to Gohan in confusion.

"Yo!" Mirai Koji said in greeting. He grinned handsomely. "Long time no see, Gohan!"

* * *

Koji of the Present stared and stared at his older self. On his left and right, Goten and Hoshi looked back and forth from the two Koji's in astonishment. Sitting on the sofa across from them between Bulma, with Bra in her arms, and Yamucha in the common room, Mirai Koji smiled back at his young counterpart, if a bit awkwardly because of the scrutiny.

"You're really me?" Chibi Koji asked.

Mirai Koji nodded. "That's right. I am you, but from a different time. Nice to meet you, Koji-san."

"Wow!" Goten and Hoshi chorused in amazement.

Following his reunion with the now teenaged Gohan in Randosel Town, Mirai Koji had followed him and Videl back to Capsule Corp to find quite the gathering. Besides the usual residents, also there was Kuririn with a head full of black hair, a Saiyajin woman and a young girl who he was told was Kuririn's wife and daughter. But what had been even more amazing to him was finding his kid self there, along with a miniature Goku look-alike, and the Saiyajin himself. He still recalled Goku sacrificing himself when a desperate Cell tried to self-destruct when he realized he couldn't defeat Gohan, and Goku asking them not to wish him back so that his enemies wouldn't harm them or the Earth again.

The future warrior couldn't help but to laugh inwardly at himself. Here he was thinking he would surprise everyone, but instead it happened the other way around.

"So, you're the brat from the future I've heard so much about," Amara said, giving him a hard look of consideration.

Mirai Koji did his best not to fidget under the steely gaze of the Saiyajin Princess. When introductions had first been made, along with being told she was Kuririn's wife, Amara had also been introduced to him as the sister of his father. Even if no one had said anything, he would have eventually figured they were related because the look of disdain on the woman's face was just too much alike the one he's seen so many times on his father's face.

"You're strong all right," she decided at length, an almost half-smirk on her face. "And just like the little one there, you also have the true soul of a Saiyajin- being the son of my brother." She scowled. "Even if you do have that ridiculous hair color."

"Amara!" Kuririn exclaimed, scandalized. "Let's not be rude, honey, okay?"

"Its okay, Kuririn-san," Mirai told him, a quiet smile on his face. "It doesn't bother me."

He drunk some of the tea Bulma had prepared for him. Hoshi watched her cousin from another world with a vague frown on her face.

"Are you really Koji?" she asked seriously. "You seem so polite, and.._our _Koji is never polite!"

"That's right!" Goten agreed.

Goten and Hoshi innocently ignored the indignant glare Chibi Koji threw at them in response.

"He obviously got his good upbringing from my future self," Bulma said proudly. "Anyhow, this is all a pleasant surprise."

"Yeah, none of us thought we would ever see you again," Yamucha added. "How are things in your world, Koji?"

"Great!" Mirai Koji answered enthusiastically. He had been waiting for someone to ask him that question. "Thanks to all the training I got here, I was able to finally save my world. While there is still some repairing left to go, the Earth in my time has recovered a lot during these past seven years. We were even able to wish back all the other warriors and everyone else who died during the Jinzouningen ordeal!"

"Eh? But Piccolo and Kami died in your time, right?" Kuririn inquired. "So, shouldn't that mean the Dragonballs are inactive?"

Mirai Koji nodded. "Right. That's why we used different Dragonballs."

Gohan stared at his older friend, then a recognition kicked in. "Oh! Does that mean you used the ones on Nameksei then?"

"Yes. It was Bulma-kaasan's idea. She remembered them from a past adventure."

"And what an _adventure_ that was!" Bulma said, with Kuririn and Gohan nodding empathically in agreement. They knew only-too well how she felt.

"We even got Dende as our God of Earth in our world," Mirai Koji added.

"You guys really are doing better over there," Yamucha said. "It's good to hear."

"Me, too," Kuririn acquiesced. "Though, to be honest, I was a bit worried with you showing up out of the blue like this."

"What do you mean?"

Bringing a hand to the back of his head, Kuririn looked embarrassed.

"For a second, I thought you might have come to warn us about more trouble," he admitted. "But I'm glad it's not the case. We're still recovering from the recent bad guy that showed up here."

At Mirai Koji's curious expression, Gohan explained, "Kuririn's talking about Majin Buu."

"Majin Buu?"

"He was a super powerful guy we had to fight with just last month," Goku said helpfully. "Thankfully, he's on our side now."

Standing beside Gohan, Videl couldn't take her eyes off the warrior from the future. Not because he was good-looking or anything (although she did think that, she only had eyes for Gohan).

"Incredible!" Videl exclaimed, standing next to Gohan. "I remember seeing you at the Cell Games with Gohan and the others…but to think you was Koji-san from the future-Oh, that's right! I never did properly introduce myself. My name is Videl Satan."

"Satan?" Mirai Koji repeated, frowning a bit while he shook Videl's hand. "That name sounds that familiar."

"That's because you've met her father before," Kuririn informed him. "You know, the guy who came to the Cell Games with that small crowd and tried to take on Cell."

It took no less than a moment for the future warrior to remember. How could forget someone so momentously foolish?

"That's your father!?" Mirai Koji exclaimed.

"Yes," Videl replied. She looked chagrined. "Although, I'm very embarrassed he's hailed as a great hero for defeating Cell when it was Gohan-kun."

"By the way, where are Father and Mother?" Mirai Koji asked abruptly.

A secret smile curled Bulma's mouth. "Your parents are out having lunch together."

"They are!?" Mirai Koji replied, gaping at the past version of his adopted mother.

"Shocking, isn't it?" Kuririn laughed. He missed his wife rolling her eyes at the mention of her brother and his mate.

"A lot of things have changed since you've been gone, Koji," Goku said.

In the ensuing pause, footsteps could be heard approaching up the hallway, accompanied by talking. It was two of them actually, and as they drew closer and closer, it was revealed that the two were actually arguing.

"_I can't believe you did that!"_

"_It wasn't my fault!"_

"_I shouldn't go anywhere in public with you ever again!" _

"_Fine with me!" _

A second later, Juuhachi-gou and Vegeta stormed into common room, both looking highly annoyed.

"What's wrong, you two?" Bulma inquired.

"Because of him, we were kicked out of the Chinatown Restaurant!" Juuhachi-gou explained, jerking her thumb in her mate's direction. "And probably banned, too!"

"V-Vegeta, what did you do?" Goku asked, struggling not to laugh at the implications of what Juuhachi-gou had just said.

"He punched one of the waiters!"

"I thought he was about to attack!"

"He was just trying to hand us the check!"

"Now, now you two," Bulma said soothingly. "There's no use in dwelling on things like that. Besides, if in case you two haven't noticed, you have a visitor."

"Visitor?" the couple asked at the same time. Then, for the first time since they arrived, they finally noticed Mirai Koji.

"It's you!" Juuhachi-gou said, surprised.

"It's nice to see you two again," Mirai Koji greeted. He had been observing the entire exchange between his parents in quiet amusement just now. One thing he saw hadn't changed was that the past versions of his parents were still prone to arguing, although not with the outright hatred and hostility he saw from them seven years ago when he was there.

"What are you doing here?" Vegeta asked. "Here to give us another prediction of doom?"

Juuhachi-gou glared at him scathingly. "Vegeta!"

Mirai Koji chuckled, looking amused. "No, it's nothing like that. Is it wrong for a son to want to come visit his parents?"

Vegeta didn't respond.

"So, how long will you be staying this time?" Gohan asked, thinking he had better changed the subject.

"Two weeks," Mirai Koji answered. He then turned to Bulma. "Bulma-san, if you don't mind, could I have my old room during my stay?"

"Absolutely not!"

"What!?" Mirai Koji said, stunned by unexpected response. "But why?"

Bulma smiled. "Instead of staying here while you're visiting, you can stay at your parents' house."

* * *

Mirai Koji soon found himself being shown around the home his family from his time and his younger self had been living in for years now. Right now, they were all standing in the hallway on the second floor. Aloof like usual, Vegeta stood in the background while leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed.

"You can choose any of the empty rooms that you want," Juuhachi-gou offered.

Mirai nodded. Looking slightly shy all of a sudden, he said, "Um…thank you for letting me stay here."

Juuhachi-gou watched the older Koji curiously. She chuckled a bit in amusement.

"That's hardly necessary," she replied. "I may not have had you, but you're still _my _son, after all."

"Yes…" Koji said modestly.

Mirai Koji suddenly felt a hand wrap around his left one. Looking down, he saw it was his kid counterpart.

"Mirai-san, come see my room!" he said enthusiastically.

Smiling a bit, the young man nodded. "Okay."

Observing the two, a faint smile crept up on Juuhachi-gou's face. It was apparent the Koji she gave birth too was going to enjoy his counterpart's visit. While things had ended on a good note between him the last time he was there, privately she felt somewhat awkward around the older Koji. How could she not be after what his world's Juuhachi-gou and Juunana-gou did? Nevertheless, as long as he was there, she would try to make things as comfortable for him as she possibly could.

"Hold it!" Vegeta interrupted, just as Chibi Koji started to drag his older self off. Everyone turned to him. "Before you get settled in, there's something I need to check out."

"What are you up to, Vegeta?" Juuhachi-gou inquired suspiciously.

Vegeta gaze remained on other world son. "Gohan allowed himself to be fooled by peacetime and lost that power he showed against Cell. Let's see if you made the same mistake over there."

Chibi Koji and Juuhachi-gou looked toward Mirai to see how he would take the abrupt challenge. A smirk slid across his visage.

"I was wondering when you would bring that up," he said.

* * *

Vegeta and Mirai Koji stood across from each other in the unused airfield beside the house; Juuhachi-gou and Chibi stood on the sidelines watching with interest, the former holding Mirai's jacket.

"Come at me when you feel ready," Vegeta told him, the usual sneer on his face. "And feel free to use that knife of yours, if need be!"

The future warrior knew his father was only trying to bait him. Seven years ago when he first journeyed to the Past, he would have took it, but he was just a hot-headed kid back then who easily let his emotions get the better of him. He was much wiser now.

"You're too generous, Father," he replied evenly.

In the next instant, both father and son turned serious, and transformed to Super Saiyajin. Mirai attacked first, lashing out with a punch as soon as he was in range. Vegeta blocked and went for kick, only to be blocked himself. More punches and kicks were joined until their arms and feet were meeting in a blur, with blows being exchanged and dodged.

"Amazing!" Chibi Koji exclaimed, completely impressed. "He's fighting on par with Papa! I'm-uh, _Mirai-san_, I mean- is really strong!"

Beside him, his mother watched without evident response, though she did agree. Mirai Koji obviously hadn't let bringing peace back to his era lull him into a false sense of security that evil would never touch his world again. He had even taken Vegeta up on his earlier offer to use his sword, forcing his father on the defensive as he slashed and stabbed at him with adept swordsmanship.

Vegeta darted back in, throwing himself into a slide and passing under an curve of the blade to come up inside the young man's guard. Letting out a half-growl, Vegeta spun with a leg sweep. The future warrior hit the ground with a thud, but he never released his weapon. He briskly rolled away to avoid a follow-up punch and came back up, dropping his sword on the ground. He raised his hands at the same Vegeta did too.

"RENZOKU ENERGY DAN!" Vegeta barked.

"BUSTER CANNON!" Mirai Koji shouted.

Thinking the same thing, father and son flung ki bolt after ki bolt at one another, tossing up clouds of smoke between them. Subsequently after Mirai Koji avoided the last bolt, Vegeta appeared out of nowhere behind him and punched him in the spine, knocking Koji down to a knee. Grabbing Koji's arms and wrenching them painfully behind him.

Vegeta smirked down at him. "Is that the best you can do?" he said mockingly.

By way of answer, Mirai fell backwards, swinging both his legs up sharply, kicking his father in the chin and freeing himself. As Vegeta staggered away, Mirai hurriedly got back up and aimed a punch at his sire. Vegeta caught the blow. For a long moment, the two of them stood there snarling into each other's faces, hands locked as they jockeyed for position and leverage. Suddenly, Vegeta let go of his hands to hook his arms around Mirai's right one and slung his son into the side of nearby fence hard, his body leaving behind a big dent in the middle of the structure. Mirai Koji groaned as he sat up…and saw his father standing in front of him with his arm extended and palm facing him. Mirai's eyes met the older Saiyajin's and he knew that he'd lost. If Vegeta chose to blast him there would be no way for him to dodge.

The blast never came. Vegeta lowered his hand and powered down. Fully accepting his defeat, Mirai Koji all regressed back his basic form, his spiky hair turning silky red again and falling back down past his shoulders. Then, in an uncharacteristic friendly gesture, Vegeta offered him a hand up. Hiding his surprise well, the older Koji took it.

"I guess you take more after me than I thought," Vegeta said gruffly when Mirai was on his feet. "Welcome back."

Mirai nodded, accepting the oblique praise from Vegeta casually even though it meant as much to him now as it had when he'd met the man all those years ago. He felt a small lump of pride come to his throat as Vegeta turned and flew off without a backwards glance. Mirai Koji was dusting himself off when his mother and younger self came over. Chibi Koji was carrying his sword.

"Not bad," Juuhachi-gou commended, handing his jacket. A small smile tugged at her mouth. "It's almost a shame though. It would've been interesting to see Vegeta's reaction had you won."

Having said that, Juuhachi-gou turned and left by air, too, leaving both her sons behind.

"Here you go," Chibi Koji said, handing over the other Koji's weapon.

"Thank you."

"That was awesome, Mirai-san!" Chibi praised. "I can go Super Saiyajin, too, but I still have a way to go before I can fight like that with Papa."

Mirai gaped at his younger self. "Yo-you can become a Super Saiyajin? At your age!?"

"Uh-huh! Goten and Hoshi can transform, too!"

Mirai Koji continued to gape. While he had sensed great power from the three youngsters back at Capsule Corp, he still never imagined they could become Super Saiyajin as well. It had took him into his early teens to finally obtain the transformation.

_*Was this because he grew up being trained by Father?* _he pondered.

"Mirai-san?" Chibi called, bringing his older self out of his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Where did you get that cool sword from?" Chibi Koji asked.

Mirai Koji gazed down at his sword in his hand thoughtfully for a long time. He smiled nostalgically and cryptically.

"A brave hero gave it to me."

* * *

The rest of the day progressed on fairly quickly. Some time following his spar with his father, Mirai Koji had ventured out to say hello to other friends he had made in this era that hadn't seen in a while. Such as Tienshinhan and Chaozu in the mountains they normally trained at, or Piccolo, Dende, and Mr. Popo in the Heavenly Realm, and Master Roshi and Oolong at Kame House. Frankly, it took no time at all for the future warrior to get used to being back in the Past Time; soon he was feeling as if he had never left at all.

Surprisingly, it also didn't take Mirai Koji too long to settle in with his eccentric family, finding his own little niche among them. Another interesting thing to note was how close Mirai and Chibi Koji had gotten in a short matter of time. Because of their differences in age and the environments they grew up in, the two were like night and day, but that still didn't stop them from becoming fast friends. No, more like brothers. The novelty of being in the presence of an older version of him from a different dimension probably wouldn't wear off Chibi Koji for days. Mirai Koji was growing fond of his younger self in return. It was a private marvel to him how animated and full of life the little boy was compared to himself when he was his age. Mirai had gotten a pleasant surprise during a friendly spar between them after dinner; not just because the boy could transform, however, also because how good and powerful he was. Mirai had been nowhere near as good as him when he first turned into a Super Saiyajin; he knew this boy would have easily defeated the Jinzouningen had this time's Koji been in his shoes.

That night, the two Kojis could be found in Chibi's room. Chibi was lying up in bed in his pajamas and Mirai was perched at the foot of the bed holding one of the former's model toy trains. Growing up in his time, Mirai Koji had never been able to play with toys…He had never been able to have a proper childhood. The older Saiyajin quickly stamped out the old, bitter feeling that started to surface because of that thought. It was much easier for him to that these days.

"Mirai-san, what's your world like?" Chibi Koji asked, staring directly at the visitor blinkingly.

That was another difference between them, Mirai thought. This world's Koji was much more blunt and bolder than he had been at his age.

"My world?" The crease between his brows deepened as he gathered his thoughts. "For as long as I could remember back…my world had been a terrible place to live. It was like living in a nightmare day in and day out. No clue to how to stop the threat of Mo-the Jinzouningen had presented itself yet, and more and more people continued to die." The half-Saiyajin took a deep breath as memories of those dark days quickly flashed across his mind.

Chibi caught the expression and looked guilty.

"Then I guess…maybe it hurts to see me here in this time…I'm kind of like everything you never got to have."

"Huh?" Surprised by the young boy's serious words, Mirai swung his gaze around back at him. His was lowered and he was peering over at Mirai Koji through bangs a bare shade lighter than the older Saiyajin's. "You're wrong."

Lifting his head, Little Koji stared back at him questioningly.

"When I first came to this world years ago, I already knew that my future wouldn't change no matter what action I took. All I wanted was to make sure this past didn't become like my world. So I'm very glad you didn't have to live the life I did." Mirai Koji smiled. "I'm just happy I got to come to this era in the first place. It was here that I finally got to meet my Father, Goku-san, and all the other warriors Bulma and Gohan used to tell me about all the time when I was a kid. In my world, they had all died when I was just a baby."

"Do you still hate Mama?" Chibi Koji asked. It wasn't an accusation, just a genuine question of curiosity. "Actually, I could see her doing all those bad stuff. And I know Papa wasn't always good either. "

Mirai considered the question. He discovered he didn't have to think about it very long.

"I really used to, though not anymore," he answered candidly. "Juuhachi-gou-san is a good mother, ne?"

Chibi Koji nodded without hesitation. "Uh-huh! But she can be pretty scary when she gets mad."

Hearing that, Mirai Koji couldn't help but to laugh. He turned his blue stare back to the train in his hand.

"You know, Chibi," the older Saiyajin spoke after a lengthy moment of silence. "You're very fortunate to grow up being raised by both your parents. You should really cherish your time with them."

There was no answer.

Wondering why his younger self was so quiet all of a sudden, Mirai Koji looked back around to see why. Chibi Koji had fallen sleep. Mirai observed him for a second, before smiling. Shortly, he was pulling the covers up on Chibi and turning off his lamp.

"Good night, young prince," Mirai Koji murmured as he took his leave.

* * *

Doctor Sacha had always been fascinated by space. In fact, as a kid, his dream in life had been to become an astronaut one day so that he could visit the moon (well, back when there had been a moon) and even other worlds. Sadly, things did not work out the way he had hoped. While he had easily acquired the necessary degrees to work in the field, he regrettably couldn't handle the actual physical training that all aspiring astronauts had to undergo. Knowing he wouldn't be able to realize his goal had left him heartbroken, though all hadn't been completely lost. With all his scholastic attainments, he still had a lot of career options left open to him. Nevertheless, since he couldn't get his dream job of working in space, he ultimately settled for watching it from the Earth through a telescope every night at StarTech Laboratories. Sacha found being an astronomer a good consolation prize to being forced to give up his preferred career. The field was pretty interesting in itself, and it always kept him busy. Right now he was hard at work, scanning the heavens for any kind of activity.

He turned the telescope towards the left-

-and then a fireball zoomed by.

"Huh!" Startled, he briskly shifted the telescope again to follow its movement. He watched it alight in the woods not too far from the laboratory he worked in, followed by a brief flare of light. Doctor Sacha took a couple of steps backwards from the telescope, looking dazed. "A falling star!"

Shortly, a determined and excited Sacha speeding down the highway towards the impact site in his car, the headlamps on the vehicle lighting the way. Because traffic on this particular road was always nearly nonexistent at this time of night, he arrived in a matter of minutes. Parking his car, he stepped out with a flashlight in his hand. Switching it on, he dashed off into some nearby woods. Right away he was hit by the fresh scent of smoke and headed in that direction. Sacha could hardly believe it. Not only had he witness an actual falling star descend on the Earth for the first time, now he was about to be the first person to lay eyes on it.

After wandering around for some time, having to backtrack and work around the undergrowth more than once, Doctor Sacha came out…and instantly slipped back into a state of astonishment.

He was now standing in a clearing where one hadn't existed before tonight. Trees were leaning or knocked down in a circle around a semi-large crater, streams of steaming smoke still rising from it. Sacha walked forward with matching anticipation and caution, carefully making his way towards the center of the crash. Reaching the edge of the ring, he shined his flashlight down and looked.

Where a meteor should have been found, the hollow was completely empty.

"Nothing?" he said. He frowned in bafflement. "This is odd. There should be _something _here. I saw it land with my own eyes!"

So preoccupied with the mystery of the missing meteor, the physicist didn't notice the shadow that quietly descended behind him until the very last second. Turning, Doctor Sacha's face lit up in sheer terror. In the ensuing instant, a male shriek echoed loudly throughout the woods before slowly fading away into silence.

* * *

Mirai Koji stretched lazily while walking through the hallway the next morning. He patted his stomach, still feeling satisfactorily full from breakfast earlier. The Juuhachi-gou of this world was certainly a good cook. He made his way back down the stairs to see what his other-world family was doing. Reaching the bottom staircase, the young man paused and raised an eyebrow.

His kid self was standing in front of the three glass windows that lined the right side of the front door, staring intently out at something. Inquisitive, he wandered over to see what had caught his attention. Both brows rose this time when he saw his parents standing outside; Juuhachi-gou stood behind Vegeta, who was facing the other direction. It looked like he was about to head out somewhere.

"What's going on?" he inquired.

Chibi Koji didn't jump at the abrupt sound of his voice. "Papa's about to go away to train."

"Does this happen often?"

Chibi Koji nodded. "But...this is also the first time Mama's ever saw him off."

Though elder Koji didn't respond to that, he still caught the note of significance in that comment just now. It astounded him how in spite of the hostile mood Juuhachi-gou and Vegeta had came into Capsule Corp in the day before, ever since they came home, any antagonism had been completely non-existent between them. It seemed just like yesterday to him when the two hated to be in the same room with one another. He wondered what made them get over their differences to bring him into this world after all and live together as a family...and also what they were speaking about now…

Outside, Juuhachi-gou asked, "How long will you be gone this time?"

"Before the end of the month, at the most," came the reply.

"I see," Juuhachi-gou said coolly. She turned just as Vegeta began to walk off, only to stop (never noticing the two faces in the window that quickly vanished when she spun their way). "Vegeta…"

Vegeta stopped, looking back at her peripherally to see what she wanted.

"Try not to overdo it."

Surprised by the words, the Saiyajin spun fully to look at her. Juuhachi-gou never turned back, though, and walked right on inside the house, closing the door behind her.

For a long moment, Vegeta watched the door. Had he just heard correctly? Did she really just sound concerned for him? Then again, he thought, she has been acting somewhat differently as of late. One prime example of that is her wanting to go to that restaurant together with him yesterday. Another example was that in the past, Juuhachi-gou had never saw him off before whenever he left home to train, and she also never cared to ask how long he would be gone. Reflecting on these changes in his mate, a bit puzzling they may be, he ultimately decided that (outside of that incident yesterday) he didn't exactly find them unpleasant.

Dismissing the whole thing, Vegeta turned and zoomed off into the wide, blue sky.

* * *

Chichi walked into the living room looking for her husband. That was the last place she had seen him before she went to go take care of other chores, watching TV with the Ox King. However, the only one she found there was her father, who was sitting in the same chair he always did whenever he visit. She blinked at him.

"Pa, where did Goku go to?" she inquired.

"Don' know," Gyuu Mao answered with a small shrug. "He just left all of a sudden. He didn't say where."

A scowl darkened Chichi's face."Honestly! He hasn't been back that long and already he's leaving off again on some new adventure! It better not take him seven more years just to come back home!"

* * *

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Goku-san," Kibitoshin said, shaking the Saiyajin's hand.

"Don't think about it!" Goku said with his normal cheerfulness.

The spiky-haired man's face turned both serious and nostalgic as he took in the sight of the Kaioushin Realm. Only a few weeks ago had he been involved in the biggest battle of his existence against his most formidable foe, with this holy world chosen as the battlefield. While the damages were gradually fading, it still showed apparent scars from the fight.

"Looks like you guys are still recovering over here," he remarked thoughtfully.

"Which is all YOUR fault, you jackass!" Rou Kaioushin erupted. "You guys mess up the place, and now we're left with the clean-up work!"

Goku laughed sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

"Now, now, Grandfather," Kibitoshin pleaded. He tried to turn things to a different subject. "By the way, Goku, how are things on your world with Majin Buu?"

"Is that what you wanted to see me about?" Goku asked. He smiled assuringly at the god. "There's no need to worry about that, Kaioushin-sama. Buu's behaving; Mr. Satan is actually doing a good job watching over him."

"That's good to hear," Kibitoshin said. He frowned. "But actually…Buu's not the real reason I called you here. While continuing the repairs this morning, I made a troublesome discovery."

"A troublesome discovery?" Goku repeated. "Like what?"

Kibitoshin's expression turned a bit grimmer. Instead of answering by words, however, the god reached inside his outer shirt and pulled out a broken silver handle. The Saiyajin stared at it blankly, and then turn the blank stare back to Kaioushin.

"What is this?" he asked.

"This is a piece of a Denshi Jar that was placed on Moon No. 13 years ago when all of the Kaioushin were still alive," Kibitoshin explained.

"Denshi Jar?" Goku echoed, promptly reminded of an old enemy he fought while he was a kid.

"During the height of Bibidi and Majin Buu's rampage, this holy sphere was attacked before by another evil being that sought to bring harm to the Universe you live in. So we Kaioushin banded together and sealed him away inside the jar, stopping him and his ambitions."

"This guy must've been quite the dangerous enemy," Goku commented, speaking from experience.

"Frankly, he was nowhere near as strong as Majin Buu, or even Dabura," Kibitoshin disclosed.

"Huh?" Goku and Rou Kaioushin said simultaneously, looking equally confused.

"If this guy was that much of a weakling, then why go through the trouble of sealing him away?" the elderly god asked. "Why didn't you destroy him?"

"As I said before, his strength was nowhere near those guys'," the younger Kaioushin continued. "However…at the same time, he still had the potential to be one of the most dangerous threats to all of existence! Maybe even as great of a threat as Buu was. And now that diablo's loose again and there's no telling where he's snuck off to. Knowing what that guy is capable of, it worries me. That's why I called you here, Goku. I need your help in tracking him down and defeat him once and for all."

"Alright, you can count on me," Goku told him. "So, how did this guy get free, anyway?" When the deity hybrid gave him a momentous look, a sinking realization hit the Saiyajin. "Could it be…that the Jar was destroyed while I was fighting with Buu!?"

Kibitoshin smiled ruefully. "I don't blame you, Goku. All these years I had been so focused on preventing Buu's revival, even I had forgotten about the Jar and what lurked within it."

"So who exactly was this guy, anyway?" Rou Kaioushin queried inquisitively.

Kibitoshin nodded. Turning towards the aforementioned moon, he bleakly said, "He went by the name of…Hebi."

* * *

"Meh, we already saw that the other day!" Amara heard Oolong say as she came downstairs into the living room. He and Roshi were gathered around the table in front of the TV in living room, and Kuririn was standing by the TV. "Change it to a different channel."

Kuririn went to the next channel. It was a news channel, and the anchorman was in the middle of saying something that caught everyone's attention.

"…authorities are still investigating the mysterious crash found in the outskirts of Polisas City…"

Immediately intrigued by this, Amara went over to join them.

"…Scientists believe a meteor may have fallen on the planet some time during the night, but no trace of a meteor has been found. Authorities are also searching for local astronomer, Doctor Sacha, who has gone missing. His car was found parked near the crash site, along with an odd statue. We will keep you posted as events developed."

"Mysterious crash?" Oolong restated. "Odd statues? And a missing person, too? I'm starting to get that funny feeling again…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Kuririn said soberly.

"Could this be the work of a new enemy?" Master Roshi speculated, sounding very grim.

Amara asked herself the same question. This incident was certainly not normal. Though before she could really give it some thought, Amara suddenly felt a hand caressing her bottom. Stiffening in place, the Saiyajin no Oujo looked down to stare into the face of Muten Roshi, a lecherous grin on his face as he continued to casually grope her. She became so angry that the veins on her forehead looked perilously close to bursting.

Kuririn and Oolong abruptly heard a painful yelp and turned…to see Amara standing over Muten Roshi, twisting his neck excruiatingly.

"A-Amara! Roshi-sama!" Kuririn exclaimed.

"You damn letch! I'll teach your to keep your hands to yourself!"

"P-Please, let go of me!" the Turtle Elder pleaded.

"Should we help him?" Oolong asked Kuririn in a tone that suggested he really didn't want to. "He's just gonna do it again."

Kuririn sighed a bit in grudging resignation. "While he deserves it for touching my wife, it's the right thing to do."

* * *

In the country, a man could be seen racing down a dusty road on a motorcycle, leaving a trail of a dust in his wake. Painted on its side was the Capsule Corporation logo. To most people, he would've seemed to be any other regular motorcyclist. They couldn't possibly conceive that lying within the man was a power that could destroy the planet if he wanted to. Of course, this person had no such desires.

Since restarting his life after the Cell Games, Juunana-gou survived by going to the towns near his home and trading in the game he collected. Something he had learned from the man who had taken him in was that animal furs were always in demand, so buyers were always only too happy to pay back out of their pockets. Although he had decided to live the life of a recluse, it didn't mean he had completely shut himself off from the rest of the world. There were still certain luxuries and necessities he desired to have, such as the impressive vehicle he was currently driving. It really was convenient that his sister had become friends with the people that were supposed to be their enemies. Bulma had given him this bike on a discount.

Concerning his sister, Juunana-gou thought about paying her a visit today. It had been a few weeks since he last saw her, and he had promised he would see her soon. Last month, he never once expected he would end up crossing paths with his twin again. Nevertheless, he should've known it would happen eventually. He never told her, but some time after he had found himself alive again seven years ago, he had caught sight of her trying to search for him once, and despite the fact he had also been searching for her and Juuroku-gou at first, he couldn't bring himself to let her see him and so he hid from her. Even now he still didn't understand why he did it, though he guess it didn't matter anymore since they were together again. He opted he would go see her right after finished up with some business he had to take care of.

The place he was heading for, Kishime Town, was right beyond the hill he was approaching. And then he heard it- screams of terror and screams for help, followed by a steady staccato of gunfire. Juunana-gou frowned in bewilderment. What was all that about? When he reached the hill, he made a sharp stop, peering down at the rural community below. Close to his destination, he could hear the screams and enfilade even clearer. These were not noises he would usually associate with Kishime. It was a small, peaceful community where everyone knew everybody, and strangers were welcomed warmly.

Then, just as unexpectedly as it started, the screaming and the gunfire completely stopped. That spurred Juunana-gou into action as he pressed down on the gas and navigated his way down the hill in a burst of speed. The black-haired cyborg had arrived at Kishime Town in no time, but…

At first, all Juunana-gou could do was stare around in confusion and sharpening alarm as he didn't see a single person in sight. Not even an animal. Instead, all he found were odd figurines standing everywhere around him. In fact, had they been actual humans, it would've seemed like something had frightened them terribly and they were all trying to run out of town. The frown on his face heightened, and he went deeper into the city to investigate.

More odd things he found were cars with busted windows, with a statue or two sitting in. Walking around a building, Juunana-gou paused in his steps. Standing in front of him were statues of several men, and littered by each of their feet were shotguns. It wasn't because of the realization the gunfire he had heard was from the shotguns, but also because the figurines looked exactly like some men he knew, and now that he thought about it, all of the statues he had seen up until now had looked awfully familiar.

When a dismaying comprehension sunk into his mind, Juunana-gou broke out into a swift run, heading towards the store where he made his trades. Before he could even step inside after the doors slid open for him, a statue came tipping over towards him. Quickly, he reached out to catch the statue, sitting it back up straight. Taking a look at the figurine, Juunana-gou's face turned into shock. The statue looked exactly like the owner of the store, his face twisted in pain. It was then and there that Juunana-gou knew the complete truth.

All the figurines he had seen in town were the townspeople themselves!

_* Who or what did all of this?* _he pondered gravely, stepping back out onto the street.

Ensuingly, Juunana-gou's enhanced peripheral vision noticed movement behind him. Whirling on his heels at once, his eyes widened a bit as he watched a middle-aged man crawling out of a nearby alley and into the middle of the street, his fingers digging into the earth and his face twisted in fear. Pausing and raising his head, the man turned and spotted the dark-haired cyborg. In a matter of seconds, a short gamut of emotions ran across the man's face from fear to surprise to hope.

"He…Help me!" the man pleaded, reaching out to Juunana-gou. That snapped him out of his daze.

"What the hell happened here?" Juunana-gou asked.

"Help me, please!" the man begged once more. "Before that bakemono gets me, too!"

"Monster?" Juunana-gou repeated.

Right after those words left his mouth, four green serpents erupted out of the alley the man emerged from and struck. Two respectively sunk their fangs into the back of either of the man's legs, while the other two did the same to either of his shoulders, and the man's plea for help turned into a cry of agony. Juunana-gou gasped. Right in front of his eyes, the victim morphed from a living being and into another statue. Their work done, the snakes released their prey and retracted back into the darkness of the alley, leaving the Artificial Human disturbed by what he just saw.

A foot came crashing down atop of an empty soda can. Juunana-gou got over his shock immediately, put on alert by the noise- mostly because the sound had originated from the same alley!

In the following instant, _something _stepped out the alley and drew up beside the stone-turned man. Juunana-gou took in its features. It was humanoid, he could tell that much; even despite of the long tail that could be seen swinging to and fro behind it, and its large, pupiless green eyes. Except for the being's face and hands, which were ghost white, it was covered in blue-skin fitting armor, with lime-green plates covering both their shoulders and chest. Its facial features were elongated out like a snake's. Now Juunana-gou knew where those serpents came from, as they hung from the stranger's head like hair. And he had thought Majin Buu looked abnormal.

"Did you enjoy that, my pets?" it- or rather _he _purred to the snakes. The sophistocated voice he spoke in belied his ghoulish appearance. He sneered down at the figurine by his foot. "Earthlings really do make for great-hm?"

The monster terminated the rest of his words when he noticed Juunana-gou.

"Hm? It would seem we missed one," he said casually.

"Who the hell are you?" Juunana-gou demanded, fists clenching.

The monster sneered. "Why tell you that when you're just about to be another statue in my vast collection!"

The same four snakes from before careened out towards their new prey, only to drill their fangs into empty air as Juunana-gou had already moved back a microsecond ago.

"Oh! That's some nice speed you have!" The monster sounded genuinely impressed. "How very interesting. I can't sense any power from you, but you're definitely not a typical human."

"You have no idea," Juunana-gou told him, looking like his old brash self as he smirked at the bizarre creature.

The monster nodded thoughtfully. "While you do appear to be capable, there's no way you're anywhere near as incredible as the guy I'm really after! However, I wouldn't mind amusing myself with a little warm-up! "

That was the only warning Juunana-gou got before he was stormed. Dodging the first punch with ease, the dark-haired cyborg whirled and knocked him into the air with a reverse elbow to the face. Disappearing, Juunana-gou reappeared over the invader and thrashed him from different angles, creating a triangle-shaped pattern as he did so. Drawing his right fist back one more time, he struck the invader's chest with a punch more savage than all the others he's landed, completely crushing his solar plexus. His opponent plummeted thunderously through the roof of a cafe below.

"Oh, right, this was supposed to be a _warm-up_. I guess went a bit overboard," Juunana-gou said, the superior expression on his face contradicting the sheepish tone in his voice.

His black brows rose when he heard a completely different crash inside the the building moments later. He flew down to investigate. Juunana-gou stepped inside, careful not to knock over any of the statues inside as he charted a course to the center of the room where his opponent should have landed. When he got there, his sharp eyes caught something startling on the other side of the room. Someone had made themselves a hasty exit by smashing a hole through the wall- the noise that Juunana-gou had heard.

"Don't tell me that guy survived and escaped!?" he said disbelievingly.

Just when he started to go check, his right foot came into contact with something. Looking down, Juunana-gou found something bizarre plastic-like thing on the ground. Kneeling to inspect it more, his blue eyes widened in startling cognizance.

* * *

"All right! One more time, Goten!"

"Okay!"

Nearby, Mirai Koji stood with Hoshi under the tree in the backyard of his family's house, watching his kid self and Goten get into position to start the Fusion Dance. Or at least try to. This was actually their third attempt. Despite seeming to have gotten the technique down pack while fighting Buu, for some reason the boys just couldn't seem to pull off a successful Fusion today. So far, the boys had become Fat Gotenji and Old Man Gotenji, and each time Hoshi had been left holding her sides as she barked with laughter, while Mirai Koji tried his hardest not to do the same.

"Fuuuuuu..."

"...siiiooon..."

"HA!"

A brilliant flash erupted behind the house, forcing Mirai and Hoshi to cover their faces again. In no time at all, the light dimmed back to normal and the wind died down. Although, in the ensuing silence, the two half-Saiyajin heard more than one deep, guttural voice saying, "Um…I think we goofed again."

Hesitantly, the audience of two raised their heads to see. They both gawped. Instead of being overweight or old, this time Gotenji was outrageously muscled, though that wasn't the shocking part. What stunned Koji and Hoshi was his extra head, the extra two arms over his normal two arms, and his four legs.

"I know...that's not right," Mirai Koji said, dumbfounded all over again. A sweatdrop rolled down the back of his head.

Those words did it. Hoshi broke her silence and dissolved into another fit of giggles. Even Mirai couldn't hold his laughter in this time.

In the house from the common room, Juuhachi-gou could hear Hoshi's giggling (and even the older Koji) and knew what had happened without having to even look outside. The kids had messed up with the Fusion Dance again. Judging from how hard her son from the future and her niece were laughing, it was best that she couldn't see what the boys had turned into. She sighed and shook her head at it all.

"-We interrupt this program to bring you this late breaking news!"

Juuhachi-gou swiftly swung her gaze towards the TV. The show she had been watching was now replaced by a grim-faced anchorwoman, who continued on in his announcement.

"Earlier, we took a number of calls from Ebifurya Town, a rural area outside Satan City. We immediately dispatched an investigation crew to the scene, but according to their report, the town's citizens seemed to have all mysteriously vanished, yet they've found numerous, odd statues all over the community. There is speculation that this might be tied in with the incident we learned about this morning outside Polais City where a statue was found near what appeared to be a meteor crash site. An employee of StarTech Laboratories, Doctor Sacha, whose car was also found near the location, has also vanished. At this time, the cause for this unexpected cause of affairs is currently under investigation, as we…"

Juuhachi-gou listened to the broadcast earnestly, frowning. That report just now sounded too strange for her liking. Her mind then backtracked to one of the communities mentioned just now._*Wait! Ebifurya Town is close to where Juunana-gou lives!*_

Back outside, after some time went by, the image of the Botched Gotenji broke apart, and he was Chibi Koji and Goten again. The two glared at Hoshi as she walked over with Future Koji, the first still laughing.

"It wasn't that funny!" the boys snapped.

"Sorry, I just can't help myself!" Hoshi apologized between giggles.

"Don't let it get you too down, guys," Mirai Koji told them encouragingly. "You said you haven't done this since a month ago, right? I'm sure you'll get it right again soon."

"Yeah, but we would've gotten it that time if Goten hadn't opened his hands!" Chibi accused, pointing crossly at the older boy.

"It's your fault we messed up the first two times!" Goten fired back.

"What was that!" Chibi Koji growled threateningly, getting in his friend's face.

"You heard me!"

"Hey, hey, hold it you two!" Mirai Koji exclaimed when his kid self and Gohan's young brother grabbed each other by the shirt. He swiftly pulled the two apart before a fight could really get started.

Afterwards, someone disembarked beside them. The four half-Saiyajin spun to see who it was. Mirai Koji gawped.

"J-Juunana-gou!?"

"Juunana-ojisan!" Chibi Koji said, happy to see his uncle.

Almost. Mirai Koji had almost drew his sword out on the Juunana-gou of this world, until he realized at the very last second that this wasn't the same one he knew from his time. Not to mention, Mirai Juunana-gou never wore a blue trench coat either.

Juunana-gou had quickly noted Mirai as well. Even though his hair wasn't as long as it was now, he still easily remembered the young man from the time he tried to attack his sister after she beat up Vegeta. Mirai Koji. Following their reunion, Juuhachi-gou had told him all about his nephew from the future, where the two of them had rampaged over for many years, and how he come to this timeline to prevent this world from becoming the same way.

"Huh?" Hoshi was the first to notice Juunana-gou was carrying something odd in his gloved left hand. Her first thought that it was some kind of plastic that had gotten too dirty, but she had never seen plastic that looked as if it had arms, legs and a tail. "Juunana-gou-san, what's that you're holding?"

Her question alerted everyone to Juunana-gou's mystery item. Before he could answer-

"Juunana-gou!" The group turned when they heard Juuhachi-gou's surprised voice, who drew up in front of them.

"Yo, Sis," Juunana-gou greeted with a grin. "How's it going?"

"What a coincidence that you're here," Juuhachi-gou replied, hiding her relief at seeing he was just fine after all. "I just saw a very interesting news report about a place near your home."

As her twin gave her a questioning look, Mirai Koji asked, "What kind of news report, Mother?"

She told them.

"That guy got Ebifurya too!?" Juunana-gou exclaimed in shock.

"So you've met the one behind this?" Mirai Koji asked, surprising himself.

"But we met in Kishime Town, which is thirty miles from Ebifurya," Juunana-gou explained. "The same thing had happened just like the report you saw. All of the people living there had been turned to statues."

"Did you fight the guy who did it, uncle?" Chibi Koji asked.

"We fought all right," Juunana-gou said, though there was sarcasm in his voice. "Even though he boasted about using me for a warm-up, taking him out with pathetically easy…Or so I thought. When I went to go find his dead body, I found this…"

Then Juunana-gou held up the item he had been carrying, stretching it outward with both hands for everyone to see it. His family and Goten gasped.

"Isn't that…" Goten started.

"…skin!?" Chibi Koji finished.

Juunana-gou's expression confirmed it all.

"Gross!" Hoshi squealed, quickly flinching away in disgust.

"This is just like that time with Cell," Mirai Koji thought aloud, grimacing.

"What about Cell?" his mother asked.

"Before we learned about Cell, someone had sent Bulma a picture of another Time Machine- _my_ Time Machine from a far distant future than the one I come from. When I went to go check the scene out with Gohan and Bulma, it was there that we found the egg Cell had hatched from and also the 'skin' he had shed. It was also at that same time that there been news reports about something attacking the people of Ginger Town, with on their clothing left behind..."

"That was Cell's doing?" Juuhachi-gou asked, her eyes widening. "The two of us and Juuroku-gou came across a few towns left in the same condition. Remember, Juunana-gou?"

Her brother nodded.

"So, something weird really is happening again," Juuhachi-gou stated, her brows furrowing.

"I couldn't locate that creep at all afterwards," Juunana-gou said crossly. "I'm losing out on some money right now because of that jerk, and I intend to make him pay for it! Can you sense him for me?"

Juuhachi-gou and all the half-Saiyajin tried.

"No, I don't sense anything," Juuhachi-gou said a moment later. Beside her, Mirai Koji quietly shook his head.

"Me, either!" the kids chorused together.

Juunana-gou grumbled a expletive, obviously not pleased to hear that.

"Why do you suppose he's here?" Juuhachi-gou wondered.

"And _where_ is he at for that matter?" Mirai added.

That question left them thinking for a long time.

* * *

In the middle of a scorched cornfield, Piccolo grimaced down at the figurine of a farmer standing before him, an expression of vivid torment etched on the face. On the ground beside the statue was a shotgun that had been snapped in half. He looked over at the three statues standing by the nearby house; one of a woman, a teenage girl, and a young boy. Not too long ago, he had been submerged in meditation a few miles away when he first felt it- the familiar shockwave of a ki blast. Naturally, he came to check things out, and this was the scene he came upon.

The usually collected Namekseijin was left feeling quite unsettled. He rocketed off, coming to a halt a few minutes later over a neighboring village. Below, he could see more statues in the street and also just the general sign of it being attacked by a strong force. There wasn't a single living being around. It reminded him all over again of Ginger Town where he first crossed paths with Cell.

No matter how much he wished it wasn't the case, Piccolo knew he had no choice but to accept that all these statues were actually the residents of this town.

Seeing all the statues, he started to wonder if maybe this was the work of the King of the Demon Realm who served Babidi, Dabura. He was the only one Piccolo knew had such a terrible ability. While he knew Dabura was supposed to be dead, that never stopped other dead enemies from returning to cause more problem. At any rate, whoever or whatever did it didn't seem to be close by. He couldn't sense any kind of ki nearby, which made the Namekseijin wonder if perhaps the perpetrator (perpetrators?) was masking their power. And that was another troubling aspect to this mystery. Restarting his search, Piccolo decided to check out the surrounding areas, hoping the foe hadn't gotten too far away.

Piccolo was soaring over a forest when he first felt it. A powerful, foreign ki appearing seemingly from out of the blue on his senses (no, more like making deliberately making itself known). Halting in the air, he spun and stared, eyes widening when he saw great clouds of dirt rising into the air one after another from the other side of forest. And it was coming straight towards him at full tilt!

"What the hell?" he muttered, scowling.

In the succeeding moment, the whatever it was exploded out through the canopies of the trees and into the air, stopping at Piccolo's level.

"How disappointing!" said the diablo. "I ran all the way over here, and the large ki I felt turns out to be someone else entirely!"

"I take it you're the one responsible for turning all those people into stone statues," Piccolo replied doubtless, his eyes narrowing on the strange biped.

"Absolutely!" the invader admitted without shame.

Right behind those words, something lashed out towards in a blur Piccolo. The green warrior quickly sidestepped it. Immediately after, Piccolo heard the squawk of a bird and turned to see that the whatever-it-was had actually been a snake, and had caught a bird that had been passing by. He stared as the bird was turned into stone. Finished, the snake relinquished its unintentional prey, which fell to earth and shattered into pieces. However, Piccolo didn't see that; he was watching the snake reel itself back towards the monster, rejoining the other snakes that acted as his hair.

_*So that's how he did it,* _the Namekseijin perceived.

"You really must excuse my pet for being so rude," the invader said, his tone far from apologetic. "After we've been shut in for five million years, it's naturally restless."

_*Five million years?*_ Piccolo repeated to himself. Straightening and clenching his fists, he glowered at the newcomer. "Just who are you?"

The invader contemplated the question.

"It's Hebi."

"Hebi?"

"Of course you wouldn't know the name," Hebi said. His countenance turned into bitter anger. "Had those rotten Kaioushin not sealed me away, everyone in this world and the next would know the name 'Hebi' by now!" That ugly smile returned to his face. "But watching all but one of the Kaioushin be decimated by the admirable Majin Buu was a great consolation! What's more, I never imagined that years later that not only would I be freed by Buu, but that I would also witness his demise in quite the incredible battle!"

"I don't get it," Piccolo broke in. "From your story just now, you have quite the grudge against Kaioushin, but at the same time it seems like you haven't attempted revenge against him."

Hebi chuckled. "Believe me, snapping that Kaioushin's neck was on the top of my list if I were to ever be freed. Five million years ago, I first went to the Kaioushin Realm with the goal of killing all of the World King Gods and taking my rightful place as the ruler of the entire universe before Bibidi and his pet Buu could. But now, killing the current Kaioushin would bring me no joy at all, even if it's just for revenge. The one I seek to conquer now is that astounding guy who fought toe-to-toe with Majin Buu and did the impossible by killing him, which is something that not even the South Kaioushin or the Dai Kaioushin himself could do! If I can destroy the guy who vanquished Buu, then, without a doubt, I shall be known as the absolute strongest!"

"Is that all?" Piccolo asked. In the next moment, he let out a sharp bark of scornful laughter."That's some ambition you have, but I can tell you right now you'll only fail. You couldn't even beat me, much less the guy you're after!"

Hebi's eyes narrowed menacingly.

"So…beating you means I would be ready for _that guy _is what you're saying?" he said slowly. "In that case-"

Like a viper lunging at its unexpected prey, Hebi charged. Unfortunately for him, this prey had been expecting the attack and sidestepped him. Simultaneously, Piccolo crushed his elbow and knee into the back and front of Hebi's neck, and followed up with a hook kick. The three shots sent the newcomer smashing down into the middle of a mountain road, throwing dirt and gravel. By the time Piccolo had disembarked in front of the impact site, Hebi was already back up to his feet. He was bleeding from the left corner of his mouth, but he was also smirking.

"That was delightfully painful!" he said, licking the blood away. "One of the things I missed terribly while imprisoned was the sensation of pain, whether I'm giving it or receiving it!"

Piccolo's mouth twitched in disgust. "So now I'm dealing with a sadist and masochist in one. Well, don't worry, there's more where that came from!"

Hebi grinned in anticipation. But before the two could get started up again, a car suddenly came around the bend. Noticing them, the dismayed driver quickly stepped on the brakes hard. The car halted only mere inches behind Hebi himself. Rolling the window down, the driver stuck his head out to glare at the the aliens indignantly.

"Assholes! Are you two idiots are something!?" the man bellowed. "Get the hell off the road!"

In response, one of the snakes on the back Hebi's head raised and dropped its mouth, gathering energy. The man stared back in alarm. The snake fired and hit point-blank. Piccolo could only gape, watching as the man and his car faded away like cobweb within the blast. When the smoke faded, half of the road behind Hebi was missing.

"Why, you!" Piccolo growled, rounding on Hebi furiously.

"Now that that little annoyance is out the way, shall we continue?" Hebi asked civilly.

Hebi promptly attacked with a kick. It never landed as Piccolo moved quicker and caught him in the stomach with a hard right, knocking the air out of him. The Namekseijin proceeded to pummel the diablo's stomach with a flood of punches, wanting to make him pay for what he just did. He finally topped his assault off with a double-axe hammer to the face that sent Hebi spinning towards the mountain. At the last second, Hebi turned a flip and kicked off the rock-face like a springboard to reverse his direction.

"You're mine!" Hebi declared.

"As if!" Piccolo retorted, already building energy in the first two fingers of his right hand. "MAKANKO SAPPOU!"

Hebi only had a moment to look surprised before the corkscrew beam struck, drilling completely through his stomach and back as it carried him into the forest over the mountain.

"He wouldn't have been worth Son's time at all," Piccolo scoffed.

Still, he reminded himself, he should completely destroy the corpse. A trivial enemy like that wasn't worth founding out about. Piccolo flew up into the woods to find the remains. He came upon a clearing, and at the center of it all was-

Piccolo stared down with a faintly uneasy expression. When he came for Hebi's remains, he expected to find the alien's body. What he found instead was the invader's carapace. The Namekseijin's eyes widened as a disconcerting notion came to him.

"It can't be!" he half-snarled-half gasped.

* * *

Out of all the experiences Mirai Koji had been through in his life, one would think much wouldn't surprise him now. Nevertheless, he was proven wrong as there were still some things that could surprise him. Flying somewhere together with Juunana-gou, so to speak.

Mirai Koji, his mother, and the younger half-Saiyajin had sensed it at once- Piccolo battling against an unknown power, who they were certain might be the same person Juunana-gou battled. Juunana-gou took off as soon as they told them the direction the energy was sensed from, still carrying around the abandoned skin. Mirai Koji went as well, wanting to check out this mysterious new enemy himself and to give a hand to Piccolo if he needed it. While this wasn't his world, no matter what era he was in, Earth was still his home and he couldn't stand by let anyone threaten it. His younger self, Goten, and Hoshi had wanted to come as well, however, Juuhachi-gou told them to stay behind, certain Mirai, Juunana-gou, and Piccolo could handle whatever it was.

Frankly, Mirai would have much preferred the kids' company. At the moment, the red-haired warrior was deliberately trailing behind the Jinzouningen, West City far behind them. Even though he knew in his mind that this world's Juunana-gou was phenomenally different from the one who terrorized him and his world, and had only attacked him that time because he had broke the agreement that no one would interfere with Juuhachi-gou and Vegeta's fight, Koji just couldn't completely feel comfortable around any version of his mother's twin. While he had been able to resolve his issues with his birth mother, he was never given the chance to do so with his uncle. Even if he had, he didn't know if he ever could knowing he was the one who killed his father and Gohan in his time.

"Do you have something to say?" Juunana-gou asked suddenly, startling the younger man. The Jinzouningen was staring directly at him over his shoulder.

Mirai Koji's mouth started to move. Then he looked away, saying, "No."

Juunana-gou smirked back at the warrior in amusement, fully aware that he was uncomfortable around him.

The two were flying over a valley when both soon spotted a familiar person coming their way.

"It's you two," Piccolo said as the three stopped in midair.

"Piccolo-san, are you all right?" Mirai Koji asked. "We sensed you fighting and so we came."

Almost as once, Juunana-gou observed that Piccolo's right hand was occupied with something.

"So you really did run into the same freak with the snakes in his head like I did," he remarked, raising the skin he had taken.

"You've already met him?" Piccolo replied, looking surprised. "His name is Hebi…He says he's come here to kill Goku."

"To kill G-Goku-san!?" Mirai repeated with a gasp.

"That guy's popular as ever," Juunana-gou quipped ironically.

"Someone like him couldn't possibly kill Goku," Piccolo said, throwing away the skin he was holding. "Still, we should stop him before there are more victims. If you come across Hebi, watch out for the snakes on his head. That's how he turns his victims into statues."

Mirai Koji nodded.

Ensuingly, the half-Saiyajin and Namekseijin shot off in different directions to search for their target. For a moment, Juunana-gou remained where he was, a scowl on his face, seeming to think something over. Then he shrugged, tossed Hebi's skin away, and joined in the search as well.

Koji hurtled low through some woods, looking this way and that for the elusive enemy. Just after he had flew passed another tree, a hand raised and fired a red energy blast. Koji noticed out his corner of his eye, however, by that time it was too late as the blast caught him in the back, propelling him earthward to skid across the ground, stopping near the beginnings of a meadow of flowers. Groaning, Koji was pushing himself up onto his hands and knees when heard a horrible laugh behind him. Looking around, the Saiyajin's face hardened when he saw who could only be Hebi sitting casually on the branch of the tree he just passed.

"And another strong guy appears!" Hebi said in greeting. "You all just keeping popping up from all over the place, don't you?"

Growling, Koji rolled over onto his feet and tried to lunge, only to be greeted by a flying front kick-tail whip combo to the face from Hebi. The blow knocked him into the flowerbed. The snakes on the alien's head opened fire, but Koji dodged it. Standing back up to his feet, Koji let out a cry as he morphed into Super Saiyajin. Hebi gawped at him.

"Ah! You're the same as the guy who killed Buu!" he recognized, pleased. "That means you must know where the fighter I'm looking for is!"

"You won't live long enough to know that!" Mirai Koji retorted coldly, unsheathing his sword. He charged at blurring speed and caught Hebi directly in his midsection with his blade. Moments later as Koji removed his sword and backed away, Hebi could be seen holding his abdomen as purple blood spilled out from the wound.

But disturbingly enough, Hebi was simpering insanely.

"It'll take more than that to finish me off!" he sneered. And then he darted off.

"Damn it! Get back here!" Koji shouted, chasing after him. The direction the red-haired fighter went in led him down another trail through the woods, ultimately terminated at the end of a riverbank. But laying on the riverbank was another 'skin', and Koji realized the truth. "Dammit!"

"Koji!" Piccolo's voice said, preceding his arrival as he and Juunana-gou touched down on either side of the half-Saiyajin. The Namekseijin briskly noticed the carapace lying forgotten on the bank as well. "That's…"

"He got away from me!" Koji admitted, filled with shame.

On the heels of his words, an only-too familiar chuckle caught the attention of the Saiyajin, Namekseijin, and Jinzouningen. Looking around, they found Hebi standing on a boulder a short distance away. Once again, he was completely free of any injuries.

"No need to worry, I'm right here!" Hebi taunted.

"What matter of being is he!?" Mirai Koji wondered, startled. "I ran him through with my sword, and he looks as if it never even happened!"

"Che! Just how many skins does he have?" Juunana-gou said, growing more frustrated than worried. "No matter how many times we kill him, he always sheds to revitalize himself."

"That's not all!" Hebi crowed. "Each time I experience _dappi_, I become even stronger than last time!"

"What was that!?" Piccolo replied dismayingly

A low growl that swiftly increased to a loud, savage cry ripped from Hebi's throat and a nimbus of purple flames did the same around his body. The whole area rattled violently as he brought all of his ki to the surface. Piccolo and Mirai Koji gasped starkly.

"H-His ki has risen that tremendously!?" Mirai murmured, looking bleak.

"As if that frightens me!" Juunana-gou scoffed. He charged in.

With a snarling laugh, Hebi fluently evaded Juunana-gou and then slammed both his fists down on Jinzouningen's back, driving him face-first into the terrain. Mirai Koji lunged next with a swing of his sword, only to be sidestepped. Curling his right arm out, he stretched it out across the gap between them to strike Koji in the face with his elbow, sending him smashing into a tree. Piccolo charged in. Hebi caught him across the throat with a chop, and then easily knocked the Namekseijin away with a vicious kick.

"Both my strength and speed have become truly fantastic, wouldn't you agree?" Hebi laughed. "Let's see about my power!"

The snakes on Hebi's head then curled upward and met head-first to form an opening, and from out of the opening emerge a single large, purple serpent. The three gasped when it started charging orange ki in its mouth.

It fired.

* * *

On the roof of Orange Star High School, Gohan froze and scowled, staring off towards the east direction. Beside him, Videl noticed his mien.

"Gohan?" she called, looking worried. "Is something wrong?"

"Piccolo-san and Koji-san…they're in trouble not too far from here." Gohan explained without glancing her way, looking distressed. "I have to go!"

"Huh?"

Knowing time was of the essence, instead of answering her Gohan pressed the button on the wristwatch Bulma gave him, transforming into the Great Saiyaman. Then in a flare of white energy, he shot off at top speed.

"G-Gohan!" Videl called, still confused as to what was going on. "At least take me with you!"

In the same way Gohan had, Videl morphed into her own alter-ego and flew after the half-Saiyajin. After the defeat of Chibi Buu, it had been Videl herself who had suggested to Gohan that since they already defended Satan City as a team that they should be a superhero duo. Gohan had only been too glad to agree; not just because she was girlfriend, but just because someone finally seemed to understand the importance of his role as the Great Saiyaman. After getting Bulma to create another wristwatch for Videl, the Great Saiyaman II had been born.

Despite wearing similar costumes, one similarity they didn't possess was Gohan's speed, as the half-Saiyajin was so far ahead of her that she could barely see him.

_*This must be serious,* _Videl concluded. Still, she was determined to not to let her inexperience at flying force her to turn back like that _other time_, so she urged herself onward to catch up.

Meanwhile, all that was on Gohan's mind was reaching source of the disturbance he had sensed as fast as possible. He was completely homed in on the weakening kis of his friends and the giant, evil ki they were fighting against.

_*Has another new enemy appeared already?* _he mused. _*Wait for me, Piccolo-san and Koji-san!* _

Coming over a forest now, surprise made him halt in midair when he really took a look at his surroundings. It was true that he was over a forest now…but half of it had been burnt away, leaving excessive damage to the wilderness. Gohan knew that only a powerful ki blast could've done something like this. It had to be the explosive energy he had felt before taking off from his school.

Moments later, Videl pulled to a halt near her partner. She saw the destruction and looked appalled.

"W-what happened here!?" she wanted to know.

"That's what I would like to find out," Gohan said gravely.

As she was looking around, Videl spotted something interesting. "Look, Gohan! Over there!"

Gohan turned in the direction she was indicating. Near the center of what was now a wasteland, he could make out Mirai Koji, Piccolo, and-to Gohan's surprise-Juunana-gou, too, and all three weren't looking in good shape. Gohan then noticed the fourth person down there, and he scowled, knowing at once that that person was the culprit.

Beneath him, Hebi was sneering at the battered trio before him.

"You've provided me with a good deal of amusement, but now it's time to end this!" he declared. "After all, I have more important people to meet with! My serpents, a-"

"Hold it!" Gohan bellowed as he descended out of the air, touching down behind Hebi, who immediately turned to face him. Videl disembarked beside Gohan.

"Gohan!" "Gohan-san!" Piccolo and Mirai Koji chorused.

_*Another one...another one with strong battle power has appeared!* _Hebi thought, frowning penetratingly at Gohan. _*But somehow he seems familiar." _

"Attacking my friends and the Earth…" Gohan said dangerous, removing his shades and tossing them aside. "I'll only warn you once. Leave the Earth now!"

Hebi looked genuinely annoyed. "This is really starting to _piss _me off. Why is that all of you are able to find me, but the one I seek the most hasn't shown his face yet!? The one who defeated Majin Buu!"

"The one who defeated Majin Buu?" Gohan echoed. "What business do you have with my father?"

"Oh? So you're his brood?" Hebi asked, looking maliciously delighted. "I plan to kill that man! And using you as bait should definitely draw him in!"

"Let's see if you can! Videl, get back!" Without having to be told twice, Videl went to go join Piccolo and the others.

Now that he didn't have to fear accidentally hurting Videl, Gohan howled and transformed, his aura pushing his cap off his head, his already spiky stiffening like it did when he was a Super Saiyajin. Hebi's eyes widened as the force of the incredible ki crashed through him; it stirred his memories.

"I know why you seem familiar, now!" he gasped. "This power- I sensed it that time in the Kaioushin Realm while I was still imprisoned!"

"G-Gohan-san!?" Koji whispered, staring at his young friend in sheer amazement. He had thought Gohan was about to become a Super Saiyajin; though his hair and eyes were still black, he could still tell that some kind of change had come over him. The uncommonly ferocious expression on the teenager's face, and the unheard-of power he was exuding. What was going on here?

Quickly recovering from his shock, Hebi lunged in at his foe with a battle-cry, striking out with a onrush of blows. Although it was apparent that Hebi was no slouch when came to combat, he was up against an opponent who had him far outclassed in every way possible. Breaking through his defenses handily, Gohan caught the alien in the stomach with a hard knee, causing him to double. Then the mighty warrior drove his elbow viciously between his opponent's shoulder blades, flooring the alien.

"Yosh', Gohan!" Videl cheered. "Keep on him!"

_*Amazing!* _Mirai Koji thought. _*When did Gohan get this phenomenally powerful?" _

Below, Gohan had already resumed his attack on Hebi as he caught a hold of his lizard-like tail. Hefting him up into the air, the teen spun him around a few times before tossing him threw the air where he hit the earth hard again. Hebi grunted as he stood up. And then, beneath all his bruises, he smiled, and privately that disturbed Gohan.

"This is a wonderful surprise indeed!" he said, chuckling. "All this time I've been so obsessed with fighting your father, that I never considered that there would be someone even stronger than himself, but to think it's his own son! Nevertheless, even if that is the case, beating you would be no reward at all. In the end, he's the one who toppled Majin Buu, not you! So he must be the one I destroy!"

"That's if you can get through me first!" Gohan told him confidently.

Hebi grinned despite himself. "And they call me arrogant!"

Hebi charged at his foe again. In striking range, he swung, only for Gohan to effortlessly dodge and aim a blow of his own at Hebi's stomach, his fist plunging through the alien's abdomen like a knife through butter. There was a frozen moment, as the two stood tuck together. Then Gohan shoved Hebi way and off his fist, the villain hitting the chewed up ground gracelessly. He didn't move, the life seemed to literally drain from his body as it became dried-up and dirty as the ground. Gohan regarded the fallen monster with an uncharacteristically cold expression.

"Gohan!" Videl called as she ran over. He met her halfway. "You did it! You beat him!"

In the face of his girlfriend praising him, Gohan couldn't let the situation keep him down for long. So he went into his usual victory poses for her, and Videl accordingly applauded.

"He did it," Piccolo sighed in relief. He smiled proudly at his pupil.

Mirai Koji nodded in agreement. The two went to go join Gohan and Videl, with Juunana-gou staying behind. He was staring crossly at the dead carapace of Hebi.

"I wanted to beat that bastard for the money he cost me," he groused. He glanced down at his damaged coat. "And for destroying my favorite coat!"

Abruptly, back part of the carapace twitched. Juunana-gou blinked, wondering if he was seeing things. Then he gasped as it started to tremble all over. Noticing this as well, the others stopped to stare wide-eyed. Then, a thin, red line dissected the corpse neatly down the middle, and a recognizable form rose out of the carcass to his full height.

Videl, Gohan, and Mirai Koji gasped and gawped.

Piccolo growled.

Juunana-gou stared grim-faced.

The renewed Hebi grinned horribly at them all.

"N-no way!" Videl stammered in shock.

"I just killed you!" Gohan said incredulously.

"Not this again!" Koji growled, tightening his hold on his sword.

"Again?"

"Gohan, this guy sheds his skin whenever he's near death, and his power grows each time," Koji explained. "But I thought for sure you had finished him just now!"

"Is this creep immortal?" Piccolo asked no one in particular, starting to feel a growing sense of doom.

"Thank you, for that, boy!" Hebi said, sounding as if he was really grateful. "That boost was _exactly _what I needed!"

"You really are on a different level than before," Gohan remarked as she slowly walked over to confront the alien again. "However, I'm still stronger."

"The more unprepared a person is, the quicker they fall!" Hebi quoted, a half-grin-half-sneer stretching his face.

All of a sudden, the hair on his head lifted into the air and-to both Gohan's and Videl's shock- transmuted into actual snakes, hissing and baring their sharp fangs. They lashed out at the black-haired teenager.

"Gohan! Watch out for those snakes!" Piccolo shouted urgently. "One bite from them will turn you into a statue!"

Having been told that info, Gohan dodged the snakes with all his speed. In the next moment, Gohan was wholly taken off guard, when some of the snakes started spitting out ki blasts at him, striking on target. After the smoke ebbed away shortly, Gohan was still standing, his arms crossed out in front of him in a ki-block. The only damage had been done was some rips and tears in his costume. Regrettably, he didn't recover fast enough. One of the snakes on the alien's head rushed forth and caught him further unawares, snaking its fangs deeply into his right arm. The young warrior yelped as the snake retracted, while clutching his limb.

"Gohan!" Videl, Piccolo, and Mirai Koji shouted in equal dismay.

"In a matter of moments, my stone venom will take effect and you'll be just another figurine!" Hebi boasted. "Once I'm done with your father, I'll be sure to place his statue next to yours!"

"I WON'T LET YOU!" Gohan screamed desperately. With the last of his strength, Gohan fired an enormous energy blast at Hebi. The blast hit on target, propelling the alien into the air and away area.

Videl gawped at the space he had occupied a second ago. Then she heard a painful gasp and remembered Gohan. Looking around, she stared in horror as stone began to spread to rest of his body.

"Gohan! What should I do!?" Videl asked helplessly.

"G-Get…my Father. He'll...he'll definitely do something."

Just then, Goku appeared from out of nowhere. He instantly spotted Gohan and stared.

"Gohan!" Goku cried.

"Father…you're here…" Gohan managed to get out, a small smile of joy on his face. Those were Gohan's final words before he completely turned into stone right. For a while, all anyone could do was just stare in stunned silence. Then Videl let out a scream that echoed mournfully over the area.

"GOHAN!"

* * *

Faraway, Vegeta stood atop of a sea cliff with his arms crossed, his accustomed scowl deepening. As distant as he was, the events of what had been happening hadn't escaped his notice.

_*That unknown power has disappeared, and so has Gohan's. Completely,* _he noted soberly. _*Does this mean that Gohan is…dead? What the hell's going on back there?*_

* * *

Vegeta wasn't the only one who had noticed the abrupt disappearance of Gohan's energy.

Outside their house, Juuhachi-gou and Chibi Koji stood with Hoshi and Goten, staring off into the direction where Juunana-gou and Mirai had went earlier. They had sensed everything that happened from the moment Mirai Koji encountered Hebi till now.

"Oniichan…" Goten murmured, looking concerned.

Juuhachi-gou was wondering if something had happened to Gohan as well, when felt a familiar ki touched down behind them. Turning, she came face-to-face with the Princess of the Saiyajin.

"Amara?" she asked. Her son and the others whirled at once.

"Okaasama!" Hoshi said, looking surprised.

Amara briefly glanced at her daughter, before her eyes returned to her rival.

"It would seem that it's time to go to battle again," she said earnestly.

* * *

Goku stared down at the stone-turned Gohan with a rare grim visage. His expression had been like that ever since he had found his first son in his unfortunate situation. The others had filled him in on everything that's been happening while he was away.

The look of ire on Piccolo's face said quite clearly what he wanted to do to the culprit if he could just get his hands on him. Juunana-gou stood slightly apart from the others, arms folded, although even he couldn't hide how put-off he was about the situation.

Videl stood abreast of Goku, looking split between angry and wanting to cry. When Goku had told her and the others that Gohan had died fighting Majin Buu, she had held herself up well due to her personal belief that he wasn't dead. Things were different this time, however, after being here to witness him suffer such an awful outcome in person.

"Gohan-kun…" Watching him like that started to become painful to her and she looked away.

Hearing her, Mirai Koji glanced at Videl compassionately. Swinging his gaze back to Gohan, the scowl he had inherited from his father hardened as the whole thing tried to bring up memories of the time he had found the Gohan of his world dead from his battle with…Koji pushed the thought away. For the past several years, he had been able to finally lock away such painful recollections and he planned to keep it that way

"Could my coming here brought this calamity upon Gohan?" Mirai Koji wondered dismally.

"No, don't think like that, Koji," Goku told him solemnly. "If anyone's at fault here, it's me, since I'm the one he's after."

"Goku-san…"

"Kaioushin-sama called me to his world earlier, where he told me the fight with Buu allowed Hebi to get loose in the first place. After that, the two of us searched around for Hebi's whereabouts in the East Galaxy where Hebi's race originally comes from, but with no luck. It was when we felt Gohan power-up, Kaioushin realized that Hebi was definitely here, so I rushed back over as soon as I could…but I was too late. Dammit!"

"Goku, can we change Gohan back?" Videl asked.

"Don't worry, I plan to do everything in power to turn Gohan back to normal," Goku assured her. "I'm sure if we can beat Hebi himself, then Gohan and the rest of his victims will return back to normal."

"That's our best bet," Piccolo agreed.

"That's easier said than done," Juunana-gou said cynically. "No matter how much damage we delivered to him, we only kept making the guy that much stronger, until he finally overpowered us."

"Kaioushin-sama told me about that, too," Goku replied, the frown on his face deepening a bit. "Hebi is a Gorgojin. Similar to what happens to us Saiyajin when we're near death, their kind's power rises incredibly, but they do it through _moulting_. That, and his ability to turn anyone into stone, was why Hebi was originally sealed away. All the Kaioushin feared that if they kept trying to kill him only for him to return stronger than the last time, he would become too powerful for them to deal with. Kaioushin-sama believes that Hebi has the potential to become as formidable as Majin Buu."

Everyone, except for Mirai Koji, looked disconcerted by the Saiyajin's statement.

"Does that mean he survived Gohan's last attack, too?" the future warrior mused aloud.

"Most likely," Piccolo replied gruffly.

"I'm gonna put an end to this once and for all," Goku vowed. Looking at his stone-turned son again, Goku placed a hand on the statue's right shoulder. "But first I'm gonna take Gohan to the Lookout until this is over with. I'll be right back."

"I'm coming, too!" Videl called, darting over to put her hand atop of Goku's. He then drew the first two fingers of his right hand to his forehead and the three vanished.

The others were left to wait. For his part, Koji was just glad to be able to take a momentary rest after all the running around and fighting he had been doing.

"There's something I've been wondering about…" Mirai Koji said after while, drawing all eyes on him. "That transformation Gohan did before he fought Hebi…what was that? Is it a new form of Super Saiyajin? His ki was far greater than it was when he fought Cell."

"That's Rou Kaioushin-sama's doing," Piccolo explained. "To fight Majin Buu, he performed a ritual on Gohan to bring all of his dormant powers to the surface. Now he doesn't even need to become a Super Saiyajin anymore."

"Amazing!...It sounds like this Majin Buu everyone keeps bringing up was quite a terrifying guy."

Piccolo nodded. "Buu was far worse than Cell or the Jinzouningen ever could be. Unlike them, he actually did destroy the world. It's nothing short of a miracle that battle ended as well as it did."

Koji's face was indiscernable after just hearing that. His mouth moved to speak when Goku reappeared.

"I tried to get some senzou beans on the way back," Goku said as he rejoined the others, "but I forgot we got all this season's batch last month. So we're gonna have to rough it."

"It won't be the first time we've done it," Piccolo said.

"The fact that Hebi hasn't shown his face yet has me worried," Mirai Koji said afterwards. "Who knows what he's planning…"

**FLASH!**

All three Senshi looked up at once, put on alert by the immense power that rolled across their senses. Catching the expressions of the faces of the Saiyajin and Piccolo, and the way their bodies tensed, Juunana already knew what just happened.

"Looks like we'll see soon enough," Piccolo said grimly.

Without anyone having to say it, the four took off in the direction the energy was felt from. After some time, their destination came to an end at the beginnings of a canyon. Touching down, they searched for the whereabouts of their enemy. They didn't have to look far. Perched on the edge of a nearby cliff was the renewed Hebi, that trademark sneer of his still stamped on his face.

"Welcome gentlemen!" he greeted grandly, "to the final site you'll ever see alive again!"

"Sorry, I can't die today," Goku called up good-naturedly. "I just got my life back recently!"

"Hm?" Hebi frowned, noticing Goku for the first time amongst the trio he had been fighting for half of the day. Instantly, his face lit up with malicious delight and he quickly rose to his feet. "It's you- the one who defeated Majin Buu! So you've finally decided to show yourself! You're pretty hard to fine, you know."

"So are you," Goku told him, stepping forward towards the cliff. "I've been looking all over for you, too, with Kaioushin-sama. He told me how you got free during our fight with Majin Buu."

The snake alien laughed. "And I assure you, you have my gratitude for that!" His face turned serious. "Now, enough talking. I've been forced to wait for you long enough, so let's get started!"

Promptly, all the snakes on Hebi's head raised, gathered energy into their mouths, and then fired a combined energy blast at the Saiyajin. It hit on point.

"Goku-san!" Mirai Koji cried.

When the smoke cleared away, the space the Saiyajin had been occupied was completely absent.

"Surely it's not that easy," Hebi said, smirking. Then, almost casually, he turned around in time to greet Goku as he reappeared on the cliff opposite of the one he was standing on. The smirk on the Gorgojin's face widened. "Oh, yes! Fighting you will be very fun! Tell me, what is your name?"

"Son Goku."

On the canyon floor, Mirai Koji started to unsheathe his sword when Piccolo stopped him.

"Piccolo?" Koji asked, staring at him questioningly.

"Leave this to Goku," Piccolo told him, smirking. "Gohan's not the only one who's picked up some new tricks since you've been gone. Just watch closely."

Wondering what he meant, Koji withdrew his hand from around his sword pommel and complied. Sure enough, Goku took a step back and screamed, power crackling and burning the air around him as his hair turned gold-white. The red-haired half-Saiyajin watched in progressive amazement as Goku transformed into a Super Saiyajin, then pushed beyond that, his spiky hair changing, too, along with the addition of blue electricity flowing through his aura. It was the very same form Gohan had taken when he fought Cell! Even as Koji realized that, Goku continued to go further than even that stage. The brows on the older man's face sunk into his skin and his hair lengthened into a gold mane that went almost to his waist.

"A…A…Amazing!" Mirai Koji caught himself, aware he was stuttering. He shook his head. "What is that?"

"Super Saiyajin Three," Juunana-gou said (not to be helpful, but because he had been thinking aloud. The black-haired man let out a bitter little laugh. "It still pisses me off that we Jinzouningen have been surpassed by the Saiyajin, but I can't deny how awesome it looks."

Hebi grinned. "At last, you reveal your true form to me!"

"Sorry for the wait," Goku apologized. "I'm not used to this form now that I'm alive again. However, I should still have plenty of time to finish this."

"That boy I turned to stone before really is your son," Hebi sneered. "He was arrogant, too, and just look where his arrogance has gotten him!"

He noticed the slight narrowing of the Saiyajin's brows and the clenching of his fists. Thinking that was the time to try and catch him off guard, Hebi was about to charge in for the first strike, when he caught sight of the three bystanders below and a thought came to him. Thanks to their futile efforts in trying to kill him earlier, Hebi's power had risen so that no longer was reaching Goku's and Majin Buu's dimension of power a faraway dream, but a goal he had finally achieved. Despite that, however, if those three were to get involved, considering who he was up against, he feared death might actually come to him if they joined in as well.

"Hold it!" Hebi called, just as Goku was about to charge. "Before we really start...there's a little precaution I have to take care of right quick."

"Precaution?" Goku repeated, puzzled.

"In the interest of fairness, I want to make sure this fight is completely one on one!"

Turning to face Piccolo, Mirai Koji, and Juunana-gou, Hebi the snakes on his head curled upward to form a tunnel, and the large serpent from before stuck its head out again. Believing he was going for the same attack as before, all three braced themselves. However, when its mouth opened this time it wasn't to fire an energy blast, but instead twenty or so vipers of different colors- green, yellow, red, and brown-landing all around the trio. Something else took place the second they touched the ground. The snakes glowed and transformed into monstrous bipeds, and before the three knew it, they were completely surrounded on all sides.

"Have fun with them, my Orochi Men!" Hebi ordered.

"Shit!" Piccolo cursed, expressing Koji's and Juunana-gou's feelings as well.

Koji said nothing, merely withdrawing his sword. Beside and behind him, facing the other way, his uncle removed his ruined coat and rolled up his sleeves.

"Guys!" Goku exclaimed. He glowered at his foe. "You call that fair!?"

"Hey, you're in the middle of a fight, remember!" Hebi mocked him, already rushing in.

Goku just barely blocked a roundhouse kick. Goku went for a punch, hitting empty air as Hebi had already backflipped away, alighting back down on the cliff he had been standing on. The leader of the Senshi fiercely glared at him.

"That was a dirty trick!" Goku accused.

"Does that make you angry? Good!" Hebi mocked, following up with a ki blast.

The blast was deflected, and then Saiyajin charged, striking first with a punch from the gut. Hebi spun from the double axe handle that followed to his face, using his momentum to catch his approaching opponent with a spin kick-roundhouse kick combo. Goku duck back far enough to avoid a punch so he could hook his arm around Hebi's and attempted to throw him into a nearby rock-face with a judo throw. Hebi countered with an armdrag at the last second, only for Goku to counterattack again by falling backwards to plant both feet into Hebi's stomach, kicking him into the side of the cliff anyhow where he became stuck in a man-shaped hole.

Goku started to advance again, but then stopped when he felt Hebi's ki rise rapidly. Sure enough, in the next moment, the Gorgojin broke free. Both the hero and villain drifted toward one another again, though the stopped midway.

"Now this is the fight I expected from you!" Hebi said exuberantly. "You're as incredible as I thought you would be, Goku! It's been so long since my blood has sung so excitedly! Too bad I have to kill you!"

"Likewise. I deplore killing..." Goku confessed. His face hardened and he drew back into a stance. "But if that's what I have to do to turn my son and everyone else you've turned to stone back to normal, then so be it!"

* * *

"KIIIIYAAAHHH!" Mirai Koji screamed, rushing towards several of the Orochi Men, adeptly slashing them each in passing. After he emerged from out on the other side of the mob, the snake bipeds stood frozen for a long moment, before they collapsed to the ground in sections. The future warrior smiled victoriously.

Close by, Piccolo and Juunana-gou were literally beating the Orochi Men that came their way into pieces with crushing blows.

"If this is supposed to be a blockade, it's pathetic!" Piccolo scorned, dissecting another of the reptilian fighters with a slash of his sharp claws.

Pulling on the hilt of his sword to remove it from the chest of a yellow Orochi Man, Koji backed up and…bumped into someone. He pivoted instantly, sword drawn back to strike. It wasn't one of Hebi's underlings like he assumed, but Juunana-gou, who apparently also thought it would be one of the Orochi Men behind him, as his right fist was raised to bash in someone's skull. Regardless of realizing that the other wasn't the enemy, neither dropped their stances, their blue gazes clashing.

Suddenly, Juunana-gou and Koji lunged at each other…then right past each other at the respective Orochi Man trying to sneak up on them. The former beheaded his foe with a roundhouse kick like he did his creator, and the latter sliced the one he went after in half with his sword. Ensuingly, Juunana-gou turned back to Koji with a smirk.

"Thanks for the look out," he said.

Mirai stared at the dark-haired Artificial Human for a long moment with that severe expression of his. Then, a slow, resignation settled around him, and a tiny smile defrosted his face.

"You, too."

"I think we're pretty much done over here," Piccolo was saying as he walked over, his gruff voice heard clearly over the now silent battlefield. Well, mostly silent. On the far end of the great canyon, they all could hear the thunder-sounding echoes of another fight still in progress. "Let's go where Goku is."

Mirai Koji nodded. Even though he didn't reply at all, Juunana's mien clearly said he wasn't about to miss that battle either.

At that time, something happened. Questing tendrils emerged from the body parts of the severed Orochi Men, searching for their individual missing parts. Finding them, the tendrils linked together and reeled in all of their parts together, making themselves whole again. Meanwhile, the wound on the chest of the Orochi Man that was stabbed by Koji sealed itself back up. Each bathed in a omnious red light, one by one, all twenty of the Orochi Men rose back to their feet like ghosts, wearing matching reptilian smiles on their faces.

Becoming aware of this, Juunana-gou, Piccolo, and Mirai Koji gasped in pure unbelief. They were further floored when all twenty of the snake fighters duplicated themselves by eight, their total numbers expanding at an alarming rate. The three instinctively drew back-to-back as they found themselves dangerously fenced in this time by a hundred and sixty Orochi Men.

"Y-you've got to be kidding me!" said the stunned Koji.

"They regenerate and multiply, too!?" the Namekseijin said disbelievingly. And he thought Majin Buu's Regeneration ability had been incredible.

"I thought this was a little too easy," Juunana-gou said, scowling. In spite of his hatred for Doctor Gero for what he did to him, one thing Juunana-gou has always been proud of as a Artificial Human was his eternal stamina. Seeing how many foes he had to contend with right now, he was forced to grudgingly thank his creator for having the foresight to give him such a useful advantage in battle. Because he was definitely going to need it this time!

Five of the monsters sprung into action. As the trio prepared to deal with them, a volley of ki blasts came struck them from out of nowhere, vaporizing them easily. The two familiar women alighted next to them.

"Amara!" Piccolo said, not expecting the appearance of the Saiyajin Princess.

"Juuhachi-gou!" Juunana-gou exclaimed, surprised.

His sister smiled at him.

"Looks like all of us got here just in time," she said.

"All of us?"

Mirai Koji, who had been watching his mother, quickly turned his attention back onto the enemy, as three of them were starting to advance in his direction. Then they were unexpectedly attacked with hard strikes by his younger self, Goten, and Hoshi. The older half-Saiyajin stared up at them in surprise. "It's you three."

Chibi Koji gave his older self the thumbs up. "Don't worry, we have your back!"

"So these are the foul presences we sensed on our way here," Amara said, glancing around at their foe derisively. Sensing a battle not too faraway, she raised her head in the direction the two powers were coming from. _*It looks like Kakarott's already fighting with the head honcho. As always, that guy is a lucky bastard..*_

"Piccolo-san, has something happened to Big Brother?" Goten asked the Namekseijin, his face etched in concern. "We felt his ki disappear before we came over."

Piccolo told the youngest of the Son Family and all the others who had just arrived. His announcement was met with gasps of dismay.

"Big Brother's…been turned into stone!?" Goten restated, numbed with shock.

Like he had done Videl, Mirai Koji watched the young boy with sympathy. Neither Amara nor Juuhachi-gou could hide their bleak expressions they were after hearing about Gohan. Particularly Amara, as her husband had not too long ago suffered a similar fate at the hands of Dabura. It affirmed her decision to make Kuririn stay at home when she first decided to come join the fight.

"Piccolo, what will become of Gohan?" Chibi Koji asked.

"Will he be all right, Piccolo-san?" Hoshi asked.

The two cousins were equally worried about the condition of the boy who was like a older brother to them as well.

"Don't worry about Gohan, your father is taking care of it!" Piccolo told them urgently, his eyes on the Orochi Men, who were preparing to attack again. He removed his weighted cloak and turban, throwing them somewhere behind him. "Right now we have to deal with these guys! They're not very strong, but if even a little piece of them is left behind, they'll just revive and duplicates of themselves. Like Amara and Juuhachi-gou did, we have to hit them hard enough with our energy to beat them!"

No one disagreed. To free his hands, Mirai placed his sword back in the scabbard. Suddenly, surprise flickered on the faces of the Orochi Men when all of the Saiyajin transformed at the same time, their quarry drawing beside each other in a right. Their bewilderment only lasted for a moment before the snake fighters lunged forth en masse.

* * *

The battle between Goku and Hebi raged on. As it stood, the two seemed to be on equal footing. Although Goku was superior in raw strength, Hebi's agility and unique abilities more than helped even things out. Point in case, he moved quicker than a heartbeat to abscond another one of the Super Saiyajin Three's punches. While Goku was staring in surprise at the space his opponent had been standing in a moment ago, Hebi reappeared behind him and reached out across the short distance between them to catch Goku by his long hair. Reeling himself in, Hebi rammed his knee into Goku's spine, then did again with his left knee. Another knee strike from the right leg was negated when Goku caught Hebi by his leg, spun him around a few times, then flung him away higher into the atmosphere. Goku swiftly pursued him.

That would prove to work in Hebi's favor. Stopping his ascension at the last second, the Gorgonjin whirled, opened his mouth at the same time his snakes did and together they fired a combined Chou Makouhou. Goku took in a sharp breath when he saw the beam zooming towards him, and knowing it was too late to change his direction, he crossed his arms out in front of him and hoped for the best as it hit him, extracting an "oompf" from him as a cloud of smoke quickly engulfed him.

Hebi cackled. "And there went the man who defeated Majin Buu!"

While he was still gloating, he didn't seem to notice when a still-very much-alive Goku rematerialized behind and above him. The only damage he received from the blast was to his outer shirt, as it pieces of it had been burned off here and there. Hebi's serpents did, on the other hand, their hissing and bristling signalling to their master that was something wrong. Turning, Hebi spotted Goku. Initially, he appeared annoyed that he hadn't finished off his opponent just now, but then his face turned into amusement.

"Tried to sneak up on me, eh?" he mocked. "How futile! Even if I don't notice something myself, my pets here act as my eyes and ears. So sneak attacks won't work on me!"

Goku started to say something, but stopped to look around when a series of explosions went off on the other side of the canyon where everyone else were fighting.

"I wonder how much longer your little pals will last against so many of my Orochi Men," Hebi taunted.

It was Goku who smirked this time. "Longer than you think…especially now that they have backup!"

"Backup?" Hebi replied, looking genuinely surprised. His face hardening, he cursorily check the ki of those his underlings were fighting with, and just as he was told, more had showed up to join his enemies' side. In lieu of appearing concerned, Hebi chuckled, earning a curious look from Goku. "It'll make no difference in the end. I'm sure by now they've learned the secret of my Orochi Men. They lack in power and their bodies break as easily as toys, but they make up for it greatly with their Regeneration and Duplication ability. If they're not destroyed completely, they not only regenerate, but they increase their number by eightfold! Each time!"

Goku's eyes widened, the full comprehension of the Gorgojin's words sunk in.

"It'll be interesting to see if I can defeat you before my Orochi Men do in your comrades first!" Hebi said, a evil smile on his face.

Subsequently, Hebi attacked with his serpents again, who careened out at the Saiyajin trying to sank their fangs into him. It took Goku to use every ounce of his speed to avoid them. The things were a lot faster than they looked!

_*If I let those things bite me, I'll end up like Gohan and all of Hebi's other victims!* _Goku thought seriously. Hurriedly, leaped backwards and started to repeatedly dematerialize and rematerialize until he was a hundred yards or more from his opponent and his minions.

"Forget it! There's no escape!" Flexing out his hands with a look of concentration on his face, Hebi split into four copies of himself. Goku gasped as the small group of Gorgojin charged him, and within seconds he found himself having to block punches and kicks from every direction as the Hebis ganged up on him.

Gathering his power, Goku screamed as he pushed all of the Hebis away with a kiai wave, sending them tumbling away in four different directions. It was only a momentary respite, for the Hebis came charging back in one after the other. More prepared this time, the hero easily avoided the first two, simultaneously catching one in the back of the neck with a vicious chop and the other with a reverse elbow as they flew by. Leaping over the final two, Goku sent them plummeting with a double kick to their back. Stopping themselves from crashing just mere inches away from the ground, the two Hebis quickly flew up to regroup with the other Hebis.

"You really are an annoyingly amazing bastard," said the Hebi in the center, his tone half-resentful, half-praiseful.

"Even when it's four again one, you're still able to put up a fight," said the Hebi on the far left.

"That's because that move you're using has a serious drawback," Goku replied. "You may outnumber me, but at the same time you've split up your power and speed. There ain't way you can beat me like that!"

"Kill him!" ordered the Hebi right beside the middle one.

They all rushed back in, only to be dealt with easily with more powerful blows as Goku proved his point by taking it up a notch. In retaliation, all of the Hebi's attacked with their serpents, as each had the same idea of turning the Saiyajin into stone. Unfortunately for them, things didn't work like they wanted. Goku easily ducked and wove under the snakes in a pattern. All of a sudden, the Hebis stopped and gasped together when they abruptly realized that the Saiyajin's evasion tactics had been done so with purpose for during the attack their snakes had all got tangled up together, and now they were stuck.

"Oh, no!" the original Hebi shouted in dread.

Hovering over them all, Goku smiled dangerously at them briefly. Then he twisted his body to the side and cupped his hands together.

"CHOU KAMEHAME HAAAAA!" he shouted, launching his trademark technique. The impressive beam consumed all four of the Hebi's whole in a bright explosion. When the smoke slowly dissipated, only one Hebi could be seen, floating listlessly in the air, his golden eyes glazed over and his body steaming with smoke from Goku's attack. Then gravity released its grip on the Gorgojin and hit the terrain like a torpedo.

Goku didn't celebrate right away. He knew that if his Kamehameha only injured Hebi, he would just shed his skin again. Goku touched down a short ways from the Gorgojin. He found his opponent lying inert on the ground, his eyes closed and his body entirely inactive. Even his ki had completely vanished. Goku stood there for a long moment, watching and waiting to see if anything would happen. When it didn't, Goku's severe features softened and he finally allowed a triumphant smile to show up on his face.

"I…did it!" Goku murmured. He was very relieved that it was all over with now, because due to the drawbacks of Super Saiyajin Three, he wouldn't have been able to keep fighting at the level intensity he had been doing just then. Even now he was breathing heavily as the form was gradually took its toll on his mortal body. "Gohan and all of Hebi's other victims…should all be…returning back to normal now."

Shortly, Goku felt out for his son's ki, and immediately realized something was wrong. He still couldn't sense it. _*What is this? Why can't I feel Gohan yet?...Unless…* _

With wide eyes, Goku turned back towards the fallen Gorgojin. He gasped and stared. Slowly, Hebi had turned himself over and had begun to push himself back up to his feet. Standing, Hebi turned to the Super Saiyajin Three and fixed him with a menacing smile.

"So you survived my Super Kamehameha, after all." Goku said grimly, gazing attentively at his enemy. "You're tougher than I gave you credit for."

"Thought you had done me in, huh?" Hebi asked mockingly, his voice sounding oddly echoic.

The strange tone in his voice wasn't the only thing the Saiyajin thought was off about his opponent. Hebi's body was now glowing with a pale light, with red cracks running through his body, almost as if he would shatter at any second like much glass. It gave him serious bad vibes that could match the ones he had gotten from the first time he grasped just how imposing Majin Buu actually was.

"To speak truthfully, even I'm surprised to still be here," Hebi disclosed. "I was certain that would've been the end of me just now…that is, until I finally remembered. Being trapped inside that shrine for so damn long, even I had forgotten." As he spoke, parts of his body started to chip off, though he hardly seemed to notice. "After my people go through _dappi_ a set number of times, we evolve into the next stage of our existence: our true form! For me, it was ten times. Five million years ago before I was sealed away, all of the Kaioushin had already failed at killing me five times. The other times happened at the hands of the strange Earthling who smelled of metal, the green one, the one with the sword, your son, and finally…YOU, Son Goku! So thank you once again for helping me!"

Hebi started to chortle, the madness in his voice increasing in pitch as more and more of his skin broke off. Then he literally blew up.

Goku crossed his arms to shield himself again, the shockwave from the explosion shoving the Saiyajin backwards a few feet away before he stopped himself. It rolled all over the land, shaking it and the Z-Warrior violently in its grip. Eventually, everything slowly calmed back down. Lowering his arms, Goku looked up in Hebi's direction and gawked.

He was certain that the being standing on the other side of him was still the same creature, but he looked considerably different now. Where Hebi's skin had once been pale as a sheet, had darkened to dark purple. His hair was now flaming red. While his eyes were still green, his face was twisted in insanity. His change had also bulked him up considerably, now donning a dark-green armor on his body and wrists. And most noticeable of all was the dreadful swell in his power.

_*Not good!* _Goku thought dismayingly. _*His ki is far and away from my mine now! And to make matters even worse, I'm nearing my limit in this form!*_

As if knowing his thoughts, the transformed Hebi leered, showing his glittering fangs. He then disappeared, reappearing right in front of Goku. Reflexively, Goku responded with a punch to the Super Gorgojin's face. Goku inhaled sharply.

His attack didn't budge Hebi in the slightest- even after he had put all his strength into it!

"Come on now," Hebi said, his voice dripping with contempt. "Surely you can get more serious than this? Or has the gap widened so much between us?"

Offended, Goku swung at Hebi from the other side, hitting empty air instead as Hebi turned into group of translucent snakes and slithered passed him. Goku gaped. Turning quickly, Goku went for a kick. Another miss as Hebi dematerialized again, rematerializing a few meters behind him. Swivelling quickly, Goku fired a ki blast at him. Hebi vanished again, and reappeared a second later. For the next few minutes, this kept happening over and over again-Goku trying his hardest to strike Hebi, only for him to teleport away.

_*What in the hell is that technique?* _Goku wondered. _*Each time he does that, his ki completely vanishes. It's like he's doing something similar to my Shuken Idou!*_

When Goku failed to land a spinning heel kick on Hebi, due to him disappearing again, the snake alien reappeared beneath him and caught him with an uppercut to the chin. Hebi grabbed him by the collar.

"Isn't it interesting how things can change so quickly?" he taunted. "I came all the way to this worthless world just for the sole honor of killing you so that I could become Number One guy in the universe. And I've done that- I am the strongest! But killing you almost seems like a waste of my energy now. Nevertheless, you do possess the capability to be an obstacle to me, so I'll expunge you anyway to be on the safe side."

"Ya' know…" Goku hissed out, his teeth gritted. "You talk too much!"

Right behind those words, Goku surprised Hebi with a ki blast to the face. Taking advantage, Goku pulled himself free, charged up two energy spheres in both hands and then hurled them one after the other at the augmented Gorgojin, the energy exploding against him as soon as it made contact with his body. As Goku prepared himself to wait for Hebi to show himself, he noticed movement behind the smoke and then something spinning came flying out. Goku quickly dodged, missing it by a hairsbreadth, losing some of the hair from his long mane in the process.

The thing that was launched at Goku looked to be a large, spinning disc. Swerving around, it gyrated through the air towards the Saiyajin, barely missing him again; not completely, though, as that last shot clipped the hero on his ribs on the right side. It was on the third try, that Goku realized that the disc was none other than Hebi himself. Because he let his guard drop, Hebi finally struck on target to his chest/midsection. Cackling within his armor, Hebi began to systematically pummel Goku from every angle imaginable. At this point, Goku could barely marshal up enough ki to keep himself afloat, much less maintain his transformation. He was bleeding all over now and half of his dogi had been ripped off.

Reappearing in front of Goku, Hebi caught him by the neck with one hand and raised him into the air. Sadistically, he applied pressure to Goku, watching in malicious enjoyment as he slipped out of Super Saiyajin Three and back to his normal form.

"Pain looks so exquisite on your face!" Hebi drawled. "It's been fun, Son Goku, but I win!"

"Like hell you will!" a voice screamed.

Even in his predicament, Goku could look surprised. Behind him, Hebi looked up questioningly…and was caught full on in the face with a violent punch. While the blow didn't exactly hurt him, it did force him to free Goku as he went sailing into the side of a cliff.

Rubbing his sore throat, Goku alighted. Dropping down to take a seat on the ground cross-legged, he took grateful breaths of air. Shortly, someone landed behind him. The Saiyajin didn't even turn to see who it was. He didn't have to.

"Thanks for the save, Vegeta," Goku said gratefully.

"Jackass, what the hell do you think you're doing!?" Vegeta berated. "Only I will defeat you. That is something that hasn't changed between us at all!"

"Oh, it's you," said another voice. Vegeta and Goku quickly looked up, watching as Hebi approached. He regarded Vegeta contemptously. "You were there as well when Majin Buu and Goku fought on the Kaioushin's planet." Hebi frowned. "Go away. I have no time to play around with an irrelevant weakling like yourself. Even though Goku's a weakling to me now as well, the fact that he destroyed Majin Buu makes him still important enough to kill."

"Is that what this is about?" Vegeta asked after a pause. That signature smirk curved his lips. "In that case, I have every right to be apart of this fight!"

"What do you mean?"

"While this true this guy delivered the death blow to Buu," Vegeta answered, "the one who organized Buu's destruction….was me! Get the picture now?"

Hebi looked genuinely amazed by this revelation.

"Yes, I do get the 'picture' now," he said. "So it was your brain plus Goku's power that triggered Buu's end, huh? I must say, I have a much higher opinion of you now. You seem to be quite the fighting genuis. However…" Hebi grinned disdainfully. "A genius you may be, that still doesn't change the fact that while you were trounced handily by Majin Buu, your friend there fought toe-to-toe with Buu, and I just easily beat him. What can you possibly do?"

"PLENTY!" Vegeta erupted, ascending to Super Saiyajin Two. He took of towards Hebi in a burst of energy.

"Stop, Vegeta!" Goku called, rising quickly. "You're no match for him!"

Vegeta heard him, of course-and knew he was right-but the Saiyajin Prince ignored him. His pride just couldn't let Hebi's insult slide. Actually, that only made the Prince even more grimly determined as he swung at the Gorgojin with an axe handle-hitting empty air instead when Hebi turned into group of translucent snakes and slithered passed him. Vegeta gaped.

"Behind you, Vegeta!" Goku shouted after Hebi rematerialized behind the Prince.

Turning a quick flip, Vegeta's hands struck the air repeatedly as he fired off a volley of ki blasts at Hebi. Hebi simply smiled at it all, which is what worried Goku. Too far gone in his resolve to defeat Hebi and to prove Kakarott wrong, Vegeta didn't notice that bit. Bringing his hands together in front of him and shouted, "Beat this! FINAL FLASH!"

The blast impacted directly, evoking a conquering grin on the Ouji's face. Abruptly, red snakes burst through the smoke surrounding Hebi, wrapping around Vegeta's wrists and ankles, ensnaring him in place. The rest of the smoke cleared and Hebi was revealed simpering down at the Saiyajin Prince, who stared back at him in mixed fury and dismay.

"That was an admirable effort, I'll give you that," Hebi said. "As such, I'll reward you by making you apart of my stone collection!"

Hebi went on the attack. Forcing the snakes to release him as he charged up his ki, Vegeta struck out with a kick. It was easily caught by the improved Hebi, and as was his follow-up punch attempt. Laughing terribly, Hebi brought Vegeta down viciously across his knee in a back-breaker. While the pained Saiyajin hung suspended in midair for a second, the Gorgojin clasped his hands together and brought them down hard on Vegeta, smashing him into the terrain.

"Vegeta!" Goku cried. Using what remaining energy he had, Goku pushed himself into Super Saiyajin and rushed in to give his comrade a hand. Even if he did know it was hopeless. The serpents on Hebi's head activated again, lunging out at Goku and spitting out ki blasts at him. The Saiyajin avoided each, and once he was in range he put his whole weight into it as he rammed his shoulder into Hebi to knock him off balance. Backing away some, Goku hurled a super ki wave at the Gorgojin.

Hebi, sneering, turned to counter with a matching beam of his own. For a long moment, the two beams of energy played back and forth. Then Hebi's smirk turned into a full blown grin before he added his other hand into the mix, his blast completely blowing through Goku's to hit him full on. Goku screamed, then he hit the ground like stone across from Vegeta, who was just now reviving himself. Slowly, he crawled over to where his rival had impacted, just as the smoke had entirely dissipated. He found Goku lying face-down in a man-shaped crater, unmoving.

"Kakarott…are you dead?" he asked flatly.

At first, there was no response. Then, there was a groan, and soon Goku started to stir.

"Whoa, that was fierce!" he said.

Vegeta "humphed" in reply. He then looked back up at their enemy and glowered, his teeth grinding. "Drat! He's just toying with us!"

"To think we would have to face another guy as incredible as Majin Buu again so soon," Goku said with a breathless laugh. "Despite the situation, the whole thing has me excited!"

"Would you shut up!" Vegeta responded grumpily.

"So you feel the same way, huh?" Goku said discerningly.

Above them, the two clearly heard when Hebi abruptly said, "Let's just see what kind of fight you insects can really put up!"

Vegeta and Goku stared in equal alarm when Hebi promptly took a sharp nosedive, aiming directly towards them. Acting fast, both rolled back onto their feet on opposite side and counterattacked.

"GYARIKKU HOUUUU!"

"KAMEHAME HAAA!"

The two Super Saiyajin fired at the same time, their beams merging into one huge one along the way. The blast hit and swallowed him whole in a loud explosion that rocked the place. In the aftermath, both Saiyajin were forced back into their basic states, both panting heavily after having expending a lot of energy just then.

In the air, the smoke finally receded.

Goku and Vegeta gaped.

Hebi was still hovering over them, very alive.

"Pretty much what I expected," Goku said, unable to do anything but laugh right now.

Hebi thrust out his hands, which transformed into snakeheads. The mouths dropped open, already gathering globes of magenta ki. Both Goku and Vegeta braced themselves.

"VIPER GUNNN!"

And Hebi fired.

* * *

"That didn't look too good," Kibitoshin remarked somberly. He and Rou Kaioushin had been watching the battles on Earth through another crystal ball created by the latter. "Everyone seems to be having a tough fight. Do you think they'll be all right?"

Rou Kaioushin deliberated over the question. "They may be foolish at times, but they aren't hopeless. Certainly those guys can find some way out of this mess alive."

* * *

Red energy cut a clean line across the earth, leading into a row of cliffs. Explosion after explosion went off, brutally tearing up the earth while the cliffs were awash in fire. Another line of energy followed, causing more destruction, and then the act was repeated again. Hebi dropped down a little lower out of the air, his hideous visage twisted in a malicious smile.

"How long do you wimps continue to keep hiding from me!" he called out scornfully.

Nothing.

Hebi's face contorted into annoyance. Following his Viper Gun attack, when the smoke had been cleared, it was revealed that his beam had done significant damage to the earth as a gaping hole had been left behind in the place where fired. And yet his true targets had seemed to vanish completely. His first thought was that the beam had disintegrated them completely into non-existence, but then he recalled just how tenacious these opponents he was up against really were and he was forced to accept the possibility that may have actually survived. No, he _knew _they had and were hiding somewhere most likely laughing at him. The thought made his blood boil.

_*Quiver in the shadows all you want, I'll find you both soon enough. A snake always catches their pray by the fangs!*_

Hebi flew off to continue his search, passing over a giant crevasse. Unknown to him, he had just flown right over his quarry.

"Good, he's gone for the moment," Goku said quietly in relief. "But who knows for how long."

Behind him, Vegeta said nothing. After the two managed to survive Hebi's attack with no more than some bruises, damage done to their clothing (Goku's dogi had been completely burned off, leaving him only in his weighted blue shirt) and unable to keep up their Super Saiyajin transformation, the two had taken refuge inside the ravine for the time being. The two suppressed their ki down to zilch to keep themselves hidden, however, as Goku mentioned, it wouldn't work forever.

"We could really use a senzou right now," he said ruefully. "I wonder how everyone else is holding up."

"Shit!" Vegeta cursed, ramming the back of his right fist against the rocky wall beside him, leaving a dent.

"Hey! Shhh!" Goku scolded. "He might hear us!"

"How humiliating!" Vegeta growled, ignoring the other man. "Having to hide like cowards!"

"Vegeta, I know how you feel," Goku replied sympathetically. "Hebi isn't an opponent the two of us can fight face-to-face, though; even if we worked against him in tandem. It's hard to believe we would end up fighting such a dangerous fellow so soon."

"So what then!" Vegeta snapped. "Are you saying there's really nothing we can do!?"

"Of course not," Goku answered, a mysterious smile curling his lips. "After all, I didn't say the situation was completely hopeless. To defeat an opponent like Hebi, there's only one thing that can be used to defeat him."

"And what's that?" Vegeta inquired, trying to not let the hope he was feeling reflect in either his expression or voice. He had come to admit that, in spite of everything, whenever his rival had a plan, it usually worked.

Goku nodded. "It's simple…Fusion!"

"F-Fusion?" Vegeta sputtered. What ounce of hope he felt quickly transmuted into vexation. "That's your big idea!?"

"Yeah! Instead of trying to fight him together as two people, if we join as one, I know we'll be strong enough to take him down!"

"Forget it!"

"But why not?" Goku asked, resembling a pouting child who was just told they couldn't get their favorite toy. "We fused together before. Don't you remember how incredible we were as Vegetto?"

No, Vegeta hadn't forgotten it. How could he? As Vegetto, he had finally obtained that invincibility he had always craved for ever since his dark days serving under Furiiza. He had been omnipotent. Even after stealing Gohan's strength for his own, Majin Buu was still completely helpless against him. Had it not been for Vegetto's intention to back the Majin in a corner and purposefully drop his guard so he could be absorbed and rescue Buu's other victims, he could have killed the demon any time he wanted. He wouldn't admit it aloud, but there were times Vegeta often still thought about that power and wanting to wield it again. Nevertheless, every time he thought about it he was only reminded of how he obtained in the first place, and it always left a bad taste in his mouth.

"I told you the last time that I would never merge with you again," he replied. "Especially if it's that method of yours that involves doing those ugly poses! I would rather die again before I let that happen!"

"Vegeta…" Goku started, his dark eyes unfathomable. "You and I both know you didn't mean that."

Vegeta stared back at the younger man first in surprise, then in mutinous anger, and finally he looked away in grudging defeat. Damn that Kakarott for knowing him so well! But it was true- especially when the lives of his mate and both his sons were one the line.

"I can't sense Hebi's ki anywhere nearby," Goku thought aloud, his brows knitting together. "Could he have gone beyond the canyon to search for us?"

"Or maybe he's right above you."

Both Vegeta and Goku froze in identical dread, realizing at once who had just said that. Looking up together, the two warriors gawped as they found Hebi hovering over them upside down like a bat, his arms over his chest and his mouth still stretched in that horrible grin.

* * *

Meanwhile, the other Senshi and Juunana-gou continued the battle against the Orochi Men, maintaining the ring they had formed as they did so. When the battle restarted, things looked to be in their favor. Due to their advantage in power, they were able to dwindle down the the number of Orochi Men to a hundred with ki blasts. However, their enemy's number was still too many for the tactic to keep working for long, because as soon as they took out one row, another advanced forth to fill the place of the last. Also, with the exception of Juunana-gou and Juuhachi-gou, the warriors were starting to tire.

The fight abruptly took a desperate turn for their side when, all of a sudden, three Orochi Men burst out of ground from the center of their circle and rose into the air, firing mouth blasts back down at them.

"LOOK OUT!" Piccolo bellowed urgently.

Forced to break rank, everyone quickly scattered, the blasts striking the space they were just standing in.

Seeing this as their chance, the remaining Orochi Men moved in.

Chibi Koji, Goten, and Hoshi drew abreast of one another, their hands cupped together. They fired combined blue-white bolt at the group of five charging at them. The blast obliterated them easily. Right after, though, several more of Hebi's underlings moved in, their mouths dropping to unleash a blitz of ki blasts on the three young Super Saiyajin. The kids dodged most of them, nevertheless, not even they could keep up dodging the sheer number of blasts as they were soon hit and pulverized. The three dropped to the merciless ground hard, groaning.

"Chibi! Goten! Hoshi!" Mirai cried. He tried to go help, only to find himself in the same situation by several of the Orochi Men. Mirai Koji threw his arms out in a ki block to shield himself. While he held up when it was over, he dropped to a single knee, worn down.

Piccolo and Juunana-gou weren't doing any better, as the two were being dog-piled on by numerous of the snake fighters.

Juuhachi-gou and Amara, after they both blasted away another foe each, gasped when they saw the predicament that their families, Goten and Piccolo were in. Their slip in concentration cost them. Three of the Orochi Men stretched their arms out towards Juuhachi-gou, one catching her around the neck, and the other two wrapping around her arms to tie them to her side, immoblizing her. Beside her, Amara found herself in a similar situation, as she was yanked down to her knees on the ground by a couple of the monsters.

With all their targets in dismal predicaments, the Orochi Men prepared to move in for the final strike.

"Damn it!" Juuhachi-gou swore.

"Is this really…how things are going to end…?" Amara panted in frustration. "After we just barely survived Buu!?"

The Oujo got an unexpected response to her question. Suddenly, in both her and Juuhachi-gou's mind, a familiar face appeared and said, "Unite!"

Right behind that single word of command, something began to happen. Brilliant blazes of gold and purple flashed into existence around the women respectively. The snake bipeds holding them ensnared screeched in agony as they too were engulfed by the light, disintegrating completely into non-being. After what happened to their comrades, the remaining Orochi Men that had been standing close by instinctively backed away to a safer distance, glaring at the women suspiciously. Even the ones who had been assaulting the others had stopped in their attack, drawn by what was happening. During it all, right before Amara and Juuhachi-gou, a ring, one gold and one purple, appeared respectively a few inches away.

"These are…" Amara started, rising back up to her feet.

"The Galactic Rings!" Juuhachi-gou finished, stunned.

"W-what's going on?" Mirai Koji whispered in bewilderment.

Piccolo, Juunana-gou and the Saiyajin kids were staring in astonishment for another reason, as they actually did know what was about to happen.

Juuhachi-gou and Amara exchanged a serious look that lasted for a long moment, before finally nodding in wordless agreement. Just like the first time they agreed to fuse together, now was not the time to focus on their differences and their pride, but to do anything it took to survive. Their minds linked by that singular purpose, the two reached out at the same time to clutch a hand around a ring…

The reaction was instant. Another explosion of light erupted on the battlefield, forcing everyone nearby to shield their eyes. When the brilliance finally faded away, one now stood in the space where two had just been standing, a single female Super Saiyajin. And she looked livid.

"Mama and Koji's Mama have fused together again!" Hoshi said enthusiastically.

Lowering his arms, Mirai Koji watched in full on awe.

"Kaasan…Obasan?"

"No, it's Kabasan now!" Chibi Koji told him, grinning.

"After the battle with Buu, I never wanted to exist ever again," Juumara said, her voice thick with cold anger. "And now that I have been forced back here, I'm really pissed off about it! So prepare yourself, you freaks!"

Rising into the air, Juumara's aura turned into flames; the flames fanned out behind her in a way that seemed as if she had wings. Rearing her right fist back, she drew in all the fire into it until her hand was completely ablaze.

"SUZAKU-KEN!" she screamed. Punching the air in the direction of the Orochi Men, she released a grand, screeching firebird. Spotting its targets, the firebird swooped down to engulf a great number of the snake humanoids as it flew over them, burning them entirely in an instant. In a matter of moments, the numbers of their enemy had been reduced in half.

Genuine fear could be seen on the faces of the surviving Orochi Men.

"So strong!" Mirai Koji remarked, awed. "She completely annihilated them!"

Getting over his shock and admiration of Juumara's power, Chibi Koji turned towards Goten. "Lets fuse, too! And this time let's get it right!"

Goten nodded determinedly. "Right!"

Koji and Goten got into familiar position. Noticing them, Mirai looked their way as they started.

"Fuuuuuusssion…HAAAA!"

For a third time on the battlefield, fiercely blinding light filled the air, forcing the bystanders to cover their eyes. When it faded, everyone looked back up. Mirai Koji inhaled sharply again at the sight of the singular figure that now stood in the place of his younger self and Goten, glowing with the light of a Super Saiyajin. Unlike when the kids tried to show him earlier, the older Koji knew at once that this wasn't another botched version, but the real deal.

_*He's just like…* _Before Mirai could finish his thought, Gotenji spoke up.

"Now you have the Grim Reaper of Justice, Super Gotenji, to deal with!" the child Fusion said, in way of introducing himself. He made quick mental calculations in his mind as he took in the number of Orochi Men remaining. "Let's see…since they're forty-four of you left, then this will do! SUPER GHOST KAMIKAZE ATTACK X 44!"

In the ensuing space of time, the fused boy started rapidly spitting out ghostly versions of himself until the battlefield was filled with them.

"Line up!" Gotenji ordered his army, and they obeyed.

"Cool! He's made ghosts of himself!" Hoshi exclaimed, fascinated.

"Wh-what kind of technique is this?" Mirai Koji asked in wonder.

"That damn idiot!" Piccolo barked exasperatedly. "He could've warned us first before pulling this stunt!"

"Piccolo, what's going on?" Juunana-gou asked, confused.

_*That's right, they have no idea of Gotenji's abilities,* _Piccolo realized. Aloud he said, "Listen up! Those ghosts explode whenever someone touches them, so unless you want to get caught in the crossfire, take to the air NOW!"

Not needing to be told twice, the others quickly followed as Piccolo rose high up to a safer distance. Seeing that they were out of harm's way, Gotenji commenced with the attack.

"Now, take out the enemy!" Immediately, the Gotenji Ghosts charged at the Orochi Men. Unaware of what happened whenever one came into contact with one of Gotenji's ghost, the snake warriors struck out at each specter that came their way, and immediately afterwards went up in a loud detonation. Explosion after explosion went off throughout the battlefield, until thick smoke could be seen rising over it. When it all cleared, there wasn't a single Orochi Man in sight.

"I did it! I did it!" Gotenji cheered, jumping into the air, his clothes partially torn and singed from getting caught up in his own attack. "Gotenji-1! Enemies-0!"

"Don't celebrate just yet!" Juumara scolded her half son-half nephew. "We still have to take out those guys' leader. Goku and Vegeta won't last much longer on their own."

"Father and Goku-san!" Mirai Koji gasped. "I had almost forgotten that they were fighting Hebi."

"We'll take care of it," Juumara said.

Gotenji nodded. While Juumara rocketed off, Gotenji paused to turn back to the others, "We're going ahead. See ya' all there!"

The merged boy then flew off to catch up to his mother-aunt.

* * *

A explosion set off inside the chasm Goku and Vegeta had been hiding in. Moments later, both the Saiyajin reappeared above the cloud of smoke left behind by the blast. Hebi materialized in front of them.

"I'm done with this game of cat and mouse!" he said seriously. "We finish this now!"

"Not so fast!" Goku cut him off, looking curiously confident despite the situation. "Haven't you noticed it yet? All of your friends have been defeated!"

"What are you-" Hebi broke off, his face twisting in shock as he realized what the Saiyajin was getting at. He looked around in the trajectory he left his minions fighting with the allies of his two opponents._*My Orochi Men…they've all been wiped out? .And who are those two new powers coming this way! What the hell's going on!?*_

"You've sensed it as well, Vegeta?" Goku asked, smiling. "Those four have fused together!"

Vegeta did. Privately, he was stunned by the development. It alreadly amazed him to see that his mate and sister had actually fused together again, when the two of them detested it as much as he did, but what really shocked him was sensing Juuhachi-gou's ki for the first time.

Vegeta still appeared reluctant at first. Then he nodded. "Fine. If they can do it again, then so can I."

"Huh?"

"Don't just stand there like a nitwit!" Vegeta snapped at the other Saiyajin. "Hurry up and let's do Fusion already while he's distracted!"

"Really, Vegeta?" Goku said, delighted. His bright expression dimmed when he suddenly remembered something. "It's great you're willing to do Fusion with me and all, but first I'd have to show you the right way to do the Dance, or we'll end up botching things."

"There's no need for that." Vegeta's expression turned sour. "As much as I really hate to admit it, watching you and then Piccolo and Kuririn teach it to those tykes over and over again while I was in Other World, my mind was basically forced the memorize the damn thing. Now let's get this over with!"

"Okay!" Goku said. "You're really somethin', Vegeta!"

Becoming all business immediately afterwards, Goku cursorily searched for a spot on the ground below for them to use. Finding it, he flew down towards it, and Vegeta followed. This brought back Hebi's attention onto the Saiyajin.

"What are those punks up to now?" he growled, watching as the two landed and moved into position beside each other. His Bunkai Teleport brought him down across from them in a second. "Don't be getting so carried away, you two. The owners of those new powers may have stopped my Orochi Men, but can they reach you in time before I kill you?"

"FUUUUU-" Goku and Vegeta started, beginning the Fusion Dance.

"Huh?" Hebi said, raising an eyebrow in wonder.

"-SION-HAAA!" Goku and Vegeta finished, completing the technique successfully.

"What is-!?" Hebi broke off in his words when a bright light unexpectedly blew up into existence around both Saiyajin. Half-blinded by the radiance, Hebi drew a hand in front of his face, trying to shield his eyes. In front of him where his two opponents were, in their place stood a large sphere of gold light. He grimaced furiously, gritting his sharp teeth. "No matter what you two do, it's useless! I have surpassed both Son Goku and Majin Buu! I am Number One in both this life and the afterlife! There's no one I can't defeat now!"

So saying, Hebi surged over to the sphere and entered it. Seconds later, the sound of a fist striking flesh could be heard, and then a screaming Hebi came flying back out of the orb, hitting the ground and rolling head over heels before coming to a dusty stop. The orb started to dwindle rapidly just as the Super Gorgojin regained his footing, and a single person came into view, bathed in gold fire. Hebi stared, holding the left side of his face.

He could almost pass for an adult version of Super Saiyajin Gotenji, with some exceptions. He was filled out with more muscle and a single bang-an inheritance from Goku- hung in front of his face. The padding of his black, leather vest was orange instead of gold and his obi was cobalt blue.

"Huh? Who are you!?" Hebi demanded. "Where did those two go to?"

"Right here before you! But I'm not Goku nor Vegeta anymore…" the new Fusion answered, his voice a flawless blend of Goku's and Vegeta's. "I am Gogeta!" He then shifted his gaze onto Hebi, and glared coldly at him. "And your finish!"

* * *

Mirai Koji, Piccolo, and Juunana-gou were making their way to where the others were fighting Hebi when the Koji and Piccolo suddenly stopped mid-flight, their eyes wide. Juunana-gou paused to give them a puzzling look.

"What's with you two?" he asked.

"Once again Vegeta does something unexpected," Piccolo said, half to himself. "I never thought the day would come that he would actually fuse with Goku."

"Eh?" Juunana-gou replied, looking surprised himself.

Mirai Koji was still gazing in the direction he felt the extraordinary ki originating from, his face unreadable. Slowly, a strange, cryptic smile touched his lips, and a even more cryptic thought flowed through his mind:_*Gogeta.*_

* * *

On the heels of his statement, in no apparent motion, Gogeta was suddenly in Hebi's face, his fist already lashing out to plunge into his stomach. More blows joined in, striking his chest as well, leaving deep gouges in his armor.

"T-this can't be happening!" Hebi stammered in denial.

Even as he did, Gogeta slammed his left knee into Hebi's chin, then he struck with one from the right side before topping off his attack with a flipping bicycle kick, staggering the invader. Quickly recovering, he immediately counterattacked. His hair morphed into snakes again, careening out through the distance between himself and his formidable foe. Gogeta never attempted to move out of the way in the slightest, standing in the same spot as if he already knew he had absolutely nothing to worry about.

And he didn't.

The snakes didn't even make it arms-length of him when a blast of icy ki descended down and struck the snakes, instantaneously freezing them into icicles. Juumara then appeared over the frozen snakes and separated all but the lower half of their bodies from his head with a single chop, reducing his pets into ice fragments that went raining down on the ground. Hebi backed away crying out in equal pain and shock, what looked suspiciously like lime-green blood oozing from the severed snakes on his head.

"How dare you do that to my pets!?" Hebi screamed, his rage bursting from his body in the form of a halo of intense red flames. Screaming his anger, he started to surge towards the female Fusion-

"RENZOKU SHINE SHINE MISSILE!" Gotenji shouted from above. The child Fusion unleashed burst after burst of ki on the Super Gorgojin, pummelling him thoroughly. When Gotenji had stopped, Hebi was left in worse condition than before. His body was singed all over and leaking purple blood.

Gogeta turned to Juumara and Gotenji as they touched down on either side of him. There was no need for any kind of introduction or to talk strategies. They all understood each other perfectly, and understood exactly why they were there right now. Together, they turned to face Hebi.

"This can't be happening!" he barked again, glowering at the three irately. "D-damn it! I'm supposed to be the absolute strongest now!"

"Spread out!" Gogeta ordered.

On command, the two super fusions vanished. Hebi looked around in time to see the former reappear behind him on his right and the latter doing the same on his left, surrounding him in a triangle with Gogeta. He was trapped!

Their auras flashing around them, the Fusion warriors gathered energy in their hands.

"What are you three up to?" Hebi demanded, trying his best not to let the growing unease he was feeling show on his face or in his voice. "Whatever you're planning won't work! I won't die like Majin Buu!"

Even as he said that, the snake alien still had difficulty bringing back his confidence.

"SOLAR WAVE!" Juumara screamed, firing first.

Weaving his hands in quick, intricate patterns- just like Mirai Koji taught Chibi Koji the day before- Gotenji followed. "BURNING ATTACK!"

"FINAL KAMEHAME HAAA!" Gogeta roared.

The three colossal beams impacted Super Hebi brutally. The snake alien screamed from the pain- a pain too intense even for him to handle. Restrained and helpless, Hebi could only ride the rage of his foes' attack as it drove him up high into the atmosphere where it all culminated into a brilliant explosion.

Not a trace of Hebi was left behind when the dust settled.

Powering down, the three Fusions exchanged victorious smiles.

"We did it! We did it!" Gotenji cheered, throwing his fists up triumphantly.

"Heyyyyy!" a voice called down.

Gotenji, his Kabasan, and his father gazed up to see three familiar figures coming towards them.

"What took you all so long? We've already took care of everything," Gotenji called back.

In the air, beside Mirai Koji, a small smirk crept onto Piccolo's face as he took in the image of Gogeta, Juumara, and Gotenji standing together. _*Now that's definitely a once in a lifetime sight.* _

* * *

"All right! They did it!" Kibitoshin exulted, beaming down at the picture of the Fusion trio captured on the crystal ball.

"Told ya' so!" Rou Kaioushin said. Though his reaction was a bit more subdued than his descendant's, he was just as elated over the battle's outcome.

* * *

No sooner after Hebi's downfall, those who fell victim to the Gorgojin's stone venom changed back to normal.

At the police station, everyone got quite the shock when the statue of Doctor Sacha turned back into a actual man himself in front of their eyes.

High up in the Heavenly Realm, all eyes turned to the stone-turned Gohan as it suddenly lit up with a incandescent light. In a blurry moment, Gohan morphed back from a statue and into living being again.

"Gohan!" Videl and Dende cried joyfully. Mr. Popo smiled, no less glad to see that the curse had been removed from the young hero.

Gohan blinked at the three in puzzlement as he stood. "Videl? Dende-sama? Mr. Popo-san? What's going on? How did I get here?"

Videl replied by wrapping her arms around him in a huge hug. A faint blush stained Gohan's face. While he was still confused about what was going on, he wasn't complaining about it at all.

* * *

Evening approached as the sun slowly began to make its downward trek. Gogeta, Gotenji, and Juumara had all long since fissured, though the warriors had decided to stay there a little longer to rest and recover after their tough battle against Hebi and his Orochi Men. Despite no one suffering any serious injuries, nevertheless the fight had still been taxing on them. Aloof as usual, Vegeta kept his distance by sitting atop of a pile of rocks, observing everything without response. Juunana-gou also stood apart from the others, remaining at the edge of the group.

It was Goten who noticed first, the two glimmering forms approaching fast from the sky.

"Big Brother!" he cheered.

Notified, everyone raised their heads to look up in time to see Gohan and Videl alight a short distance away. Goten and the other kids ran over to greet the older Saiyajin, who ruffled his brother's hair affectionately. Goku watched the scene with an affectionate smile, relieved to see his older son back to normal.

"How's it going, everyone?" Gohan said good-naturedly to the others.

"Good to see you're well again, kid," Piccolo said, drawing up in front of the teenager as he clapped a hand over his shoulder. Gohan nodded.

"You missed quite the party," Mirai Koji quipped.

Gohan smirked. "I heard."

"Whew! I'm just glad it's all over with and everyone came through it just fine," Goku said. "Facing Chichi without being able to turn Gohan back to normal would've been a lot scarier than fighting Buu or Hebi!"

A few of them laughed at that.

"And just what are we supposed to do with these?" Amara said irritably, holding up her hand she wore her Galactic Ring on. That prompted Juuhachi-gou to do the same.

"Yeah, I've been wondering about that," Piccolo said. "Just how were you two able to get them in the first place? Didn't Kosumo-sama take them with her when she was here last time?"

Juuhachi-gou nodded. She frowned. "It's strange really. We just heard her voice in our minds and they appeared out of nowhere."

"Kosumo-sama, seeing you were in trouble, sent them to you," Piccolo explained.

"Well, the fight's over with now, so I have no more use for it!" Amara told him, preparing to take the ring off.

Subsequently, both the Galactic Rings vanished off Juuhachi-gou's and Amara's hand. More than one person gawped. In their minds, the two women thought they could hear a faint chuckle.

Amara glared at her now bare hand. "Hmph. That woman just does what she damn well please."

Unnoticed by any of them, close-by, a green shape crept along the rubble. Gotenji didn't get all of the remaining Orochi Men; this one had been clever enough to burrow itself deep into the ground to escape its death at the hands of Gotenji's Ghosts. Although its master was gone, it still remembered his will very clearly: kill the lot before it. With the quickness and stealth borne from its snake heritage, it slithered across the terrain, reaching its foes in three strides. It leapt into the air, aiming towards an unexpected Goku first-

-and was obstructed by a huge ki blast.

Goku and the others turned in time to see the blast swallow the monster whole, leaving no piece of it to regenerate.

They stared in silent amazement for a long time. Then they turned in the direction the killing shot had come from. Standing atop of the debris, his right hand stretched out, Vegeta's face was the picture of cold victory.

"How many times must I repeat myself…" he said, dropping his arm. "Only I alone will defeat Kakarott!"

* * *

Two weeks had gone by since the battle with Hebi. Following that, all there was left for the Z-Senshi to do was to unwind and get some well-deserved rest after everything they had been through. Mirai Koji even got to finally meet the infamous Majin Buu; his appearance had surprised the half-Saiyajin after everything he had been told about the Majin.

All-too soon had it come time for Mirai Koji's visit come to an end. On the day of his departure, the whole gang was gathered behind Capsule Corp to say farewell to the young man from the future. Even Juunana-gou was there.

"In spite of what happened, I had a great time," Mirai Koji was saying, standing next to his Time Machine. "It was really good seeing you all again!"

"Take care, Koji-san," Gohan said with a grin, walking up to shake his fellow half-Saiyajin's hand.

Bulma then walked up to hug the young man who she had raised as her own son in his time.

"Now, don't be a stranger," she said. "And tell myself I said hello!"

"I will."

Mirai Koji turned to his parents. He was briefly reminded of how they were the last he said goodbye to during his previous tenure in the Past timeline. The difference was that this time the two were standing together like an actual couple and not glaring a hole into each other, and that his kid self was standing with them.

"Father…Mother…" he began.

"Do you have everything?" Juuhachi-gou asked. Mirai Koji nodded. "Are you sure?"

"Will you stop babying him and let him go already?" Vegeta impatiently.

Juuhachi-gou scowled at him. "I am not babying him. I just don't want him to forget anything."

"You're babying him!"

"Shut up! Who asked for your opinion, anyway!"

The two started up, and Chibi Koji clapped his hand over his face, sighing in chagrin. However, his older self laughed at them. His parents stopped arguing at once and turned to face him again.

"What's so funny?" Vegeta demanded.

"It's just that my parents back home had the same argument over me when I was coming here."

"Mirai-san," Chibi Koji spoke up, looking plainly sad to see himself from another time leaving. "Will I ever see you again?"

Mirai Koji knelt down in front of him so that they were face-to-face. "That's something I can't say for certain, Chibi-kun," he said regrettably. "Sorry. I have to go back to my own time now."

"I see," Chibi Koji said, looking even more downcast.

Mirai Koji's expression grew rueful. He could understand how his younger self felt all-too well. In the short time they had gotten to know one another, they had become quite close. They had become like brothers. He hated to leave him like this. Suddenly, inspiration hit him.

"Hey, I'll tell you what," he said, removing his scabbard. He presented his sheathed sword to the younger boy. "Until I return, how about you take care of this for me?"

Chibi Koji stared back at him wide-eyed. "Really? Cool!"

As Chibi Koji took the sword, an impressed Goten and Hoshi gathered around him to praise him on his gift.

"Take care, Chibi. Make sure our parents don't kill each other!" Mirai said with a wink.

"'Kay!"

Vegeta and Juuhachi-gou blushed as some of the others laughed at them.

"Idiot," the two growled at the same time, glaring at their elder son.

Shortly, Mirai Koji was sitting inside the Time Machine, flipping this or that switch to get the aircraft started. When the time vehicle began to raise off the ground, Chibi Koji, Goten, and Hoshi ran up to wave goodbye up at him, with Mirai Koji returning the gesture.

Watching them, he started to feel a bit guilty that he hadn't been completely honest with them about some things. Not wanting to accidentally alter anything in their world, he had thought it would be for the best if he didn't tell them _everything _that's happened back home since he returned there seven years ago. For example, in his time he had already known about his father's sister as he and Mirai Juuhachi-gou had come across Mirai Amara during their travel to New Nameksei, and also the Uchuushin, Kosumo and Kontonshin, Kaosu. He hadn't been incredibly surprised that Amara and Kuririn had gotten together like he seemed, because even in his world Amara was living at Kame House by Kuririn's invitation. Something else he had knew about was Majin Buu, only he never got to see him in his world as he and the other Z-Senshi, with help from Kaioushin and Kibito, had been able to thwart Madoshi Babidi and his henchmen from resurrecting the demon. Having met Buu in person, Koji now knew why Kaioshin seemed to fear Buu's power so much. He had also known about Fusion and Gogeta, and how much his father despised it because of the Fusion Dance (and reasonably so, in his opinion). While coming back to see that this world's Vegeta and Juuhachi had gotten together after all, it hadn't completely stunned him. How could it when even his birth parents had managed to work things out after everything that happened?

Mirai Koji chuckled quietly to himself at that last part. There was something else he had kept from everyone. Something he wondered if would ever play out in this era someday, too, as his Time Machine vanished into the time stream.

Back home, his parents were currently expecting another child.

* * *

**The End**


End file.
